(ANSA) - Rome, July 24 - Italy on Tuesday continued to battle fires across scorching central and southern regions, where thousands of people had to be evacuated.

    One of the worst-hit areas was the Gargano peninsula in southern Puglia, where more than 1,000 people were trapped on beaches near the coastal resorts of Peschici and Vieste after fires spread across adjacent woodland.

    Several bathers were reported to have been injured by the flames.

    The coastguard and navy ships were taking part in the rescue operations in a situation described as "critical" by the local authorities.

    Another 250 people had to be evacuated from homes, resorts and camp sites in and around Peschici.

    In the neighbouring town of Vieste, schools were reopened to shelter tourists fleeing seaside hotels and camping grounds.

    Witnesses reported scenes of panic as flames ripped through four Vieste camping sites.

    Some of the tourists needed treatment for smoke inhalation.

    All camping sites in the area were subsequently shut down as a precaution.

    The fires were being fanned by strong winds, which made it impossible for helicopters to take part in firefighting operations.

    Higher up the coastline in the Molise region, people were evacuated from near Termoli and concern was growing that the flames would reach homes on the southern outskirts of the seaside town.

    The head of Molise's regional government, Michele Iorio, asked for a state of emergency to be declared.

    Some rail services between Rome and the east coast were also disrupted by the fires.

    In Calabria, where temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius, the authorities were fighting ten major fires and dozens of smaller ones with the help of two Canadairs and a helicopter.

    In the town of Magisano near Catanzaro, inhabitants took refuge in the local church to escape the dense smoke of a nearby fire.

    More than 250 people were evacuated in Ortona dei Marsi in Abruzzo as a precaution, while in the lakeside town of Castel Gandolfo near Rome where the pope has his summer residence, two hotels and 25 villas had to be evacuated and two homes suffered fire damage.

    Firefighters were also tackling scores of blazes in the region of Campania around Naples, as well as on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.

    Italian farmers' association CIA said the fires had already caused five billion euros of damage.

    ARSONISTS BLAMED.

    The civil defence department said Italy was dealing with one of the worst fire emergencies in years and laid the blame on arsonists whom it said were "waging war" on the authorities.

    Civil Protection chief Guido Bertolaso said that "all the forces of law and order stand united in response to this war waged by irresponsible criminals... The arsonists will not prevail".

    Bertolaso said the State had already paid a "high and tragic price", referring to Monday's death of a Canadair pilot.

    Andrea Golfera, 51, died on Monday evening when his firefighting plane crashed into a mountain while trying to put out a spate of fires in parkland in Abruzzo.

    His co-pilot, 28-year-old Daniele Ret, is in hospital in a drug-induced coma but doctors said his condition was not life-threatening.

    Investigators said the Canadair was climbing steeply in thick smoke when the pilot lost control and his plane hit the tree-covered mountainside.

    Bertolaso said that "the real responsibility for Golfera's death lies with the people who start these fires".

    He said the co-pilot's survival was a "small miracle".

    Forestry Corps Chief Cesare Patrone agreed that nearly all of the blazes had been started deliberately.

    "These environmental disasters are generally the result of criminal actions motivated either directly or indirectly by economic interests. Not only do they seriously damage our natural heritage but they also cost human lives," Patrone said.

    Suspicion usually focuses on farmers seeking to clear space for agricultural purposes or by construction speculators hoping to win permits to build on protected land.

    It is also sometimes claimed that firefighters themselves and members of the Forestry Corps set fire to woods in the hope of creating new jobs, either battling the flames or working in reforestation programs.

    Bertolaso, meanwhile, warned that Italy's current heat wave and drought, key factors in the fire emergency, would continue.

    "It will be slightly cooler in central regions for the next few days but these exceptionally high temperatures will return at the weekend," he said.