Three soldiers battling a wildfire in southwestern Spain were injured in an accident yesterday, as firefighters gained the upper hand over blazes that have killed six of their colleagues in the past week.
One of the soldiers was driving a truck near the town of Caceres which overturned on a steep hill and then hit a 4X4, slightly injuring two soldiers in the car, said an AFP photographer who was in the 4X4 but was unhurt.
The three were fighting a wildfire in the area but which was under control. Elsewhere in the country, dozens of firefighters were battling one blaze in the northeastern region of Aragon, where more than 11,700 hectares have been lost to the flames, the regional government said in a statement.
Five other blazes which erupted in the region last week are still burning but are now under control, it added.
A wildfire near the eastern town of Las Hurdes which forced the evacuation of over 500 people was also brought under control, a spokesman for the regional government of Extremadura said.
More than 500 firefighters were working to completely extinguish the blaze which appeared to be under control on Sunday but flared up again in the early hours of Monday due to strong winds which fanned the flames.
The area residents who were evacuated were allowed to return to their homes later on Monday after the risk from the flames and smoke abated.
A fire near the village of Horta de Sant Joan in northeastern Spain which claimed the lives of five firefighters last week was completely extinguished, firefighters said. Another firefighter died battling a fire in Aragon last week. The fires have destroyed some 20,000 hectares in the country since last week.
With temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Spain yesterday, the Interior Ministry maintained three-quarters of Spain on "maximum" alert for wildfires.
Spain lost 155,000 hectares to fire in 2005 and another 188,000 hectares in 2006 but was spared major wildfire damage in the past two years, the exception being the Canary Islands in the Atlantic which suffered major blazes in 2007.