Ten injured while leaving stopped train near wildfire in Spain
17 August 2022, 13:14
The wildfire is one of two still raging out of control in eastern Spain.
An approaching wildfire in eastern Spain caused a train driver to stop and prepare to change direction to avoid the flames, and several passengers were injured when they got off rather than wait, authorities said.
The train was travelling in the Valencia region on Tuesday when the driver decided to reverse because of the wildfire advancing from around the town of Bejis, further east.
Some passengers got off the train when it stopped in the countryside, including some who broke windows to escape, officials said.
Ten people were injured, Spanish state news agency Efe reported.
Seguro que habrás oído hablar de incendios que, puntualmente, superan la capacidad de extinción. Mira como los viven los #bomberos cuando deben proteger vidas y bienes. La tarde del 16-08-22 quedará marcada para siempre como uno de estos incendios. #IFBejís pic.twitter.com/RdPpWMshDs
— Bombers Dipcas (@BombersDipcas) August 17, 2022
The government of Castellon province on Wednesday tweeted a video of firefighters running for their lives as towering flames from the Bejis fire roared behind them.
The wildfire is one of two still raging out of control in eastern 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.
Valencia regional president Ximo Puig said on Wednesday that the Bejis fire had a perimeter of some 30 miles and had burned some 10,00 acres.
He said the Val d’Ebo blaze had a perimeter of 50 miles and had scorched some 28,000 acres.
The European Forest Fire Information System says 679,000 acres have burned in wildfires so far this year in Spain, more than four times the country’s annual average of 165,000 acres since 2006, when records began.
In 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.
Smoke from the Portugal fire reached Spain’s capital, Madrid, about 240 miles to the east, on Tuesday.
