Madrid: An approaching wildfire in eastern Spain caused a train driver to stop and change directions to avoid the flames as several passengers were injured when they got off, authorities said. The train was travelling in the Valencia region on Tuesday night when the driver decided to reverse course because of the wildfire advancing from around the town of Bejs, further east.
Some passengers got off the train when it stopped in the countryside, including ones who broke windows to escape, officials said. Ten people were injured, Spanish state news agency Efe reported. The government of Castelln province on Wednesday tweeted a video of firefighters running for their lives as towering flames from the Bejs fire roared behind them.
The wildfire is one of two still raging out of control in Spain. South of Valencia city, a bigger fire around the Val d'Ebo area has forced more than 1,500 people to evacuate towns and villages since the weekend. The European Forest Fire Information System says 275,000 hectares (679,000 acres) have burned in wildfires so far this year in Spain.
That's more than four times the country's annual average of 67,000 hectares (165,000 acres) since 2006, when records began. In the neighbouring Portugal, authorities said they hoped to bring under control a wildfire that has burned for 12 days and scorched large swaths of pine forest in the Serra da Estrela Natural Park. However, officials warned a new wave forecast for the area could complicate the task. Smoke from the Portugal fire reached Spain's capital, Madrid, about 400 kilometres (240 miles) to the east, on Tuesday. (AP)
