Death toll in Portugal forest fires rises to 62
                 Source: Xinhua | 2017-06-18 21:55:51 | Editor: huaxia

A wildfire in central Portugal killed at least 62 people, the government said on June 18, 2017. (AFP PHOTO/PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA)

LISBON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of people killed in the forest fires raging in central Portugal has risen to 62, with 54 others injured, State Secretary of Internal Affairs Ministry Jorge Gomes said Sunday.

Gomes told reporters that among the dead, two of them are victims of a road accident, while four of the injured are in serious condition.

The Portuguese government has declared the state of emergency in the fire area, and also a three-day national mourning from Sunday and Tuesday.

The fires broke out Saturday in Pedrogao Grande, some 150 km northeast of Lisbon, and quickly spread to the towns of Figueird dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera in the district of Leiria, where firefighters are still battling the fire.

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Death toll in Portugal forest fires rises to 62

Source: Xinhua 2017-06-18 21:55:51

A wildfire in central Portugal killed at least 62 people, the government said on June 18, 2017. (AFP PHOTO/PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA)

LISBON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The number of people killed in the forest fires raging in central Portugal has risen to 62, with 54 others injured, State Secretary of Internal Affairs Ministry Jorge Gomes said Sunday.

Gomes told reporters that among the dead, two of them are victims of a road accident, while four of the injured are in serious condition.

The Portuguese government has declared the state of emergency in the fire area, and also a three-day national mourning from Sunday and Tuesday.

The fires broke out Saturday in Pedrogao Grande, some 150 km northeast of Lisbon, and quickly spread to the towns of Figueird dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera in the district of Leiria, where firefighters are still battling the fire.

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