LISBON, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Thursday that the country's parliament will create an independent technical commission to investigate all those unclarified questions related to huge forest fires in Pedrogao Grande, in central Portugal.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting of the Council of Ministers, Costa said that the government is totally open to collaborate in any proposal for an independent technical commission to be created by the parliamentary as requested by the main opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD).
The investigation will focus on the cause of the devastating fires, delayed closure of the national highway 236 and the failure of the emergency and security network system after the eruption of the fires.
Costa also said that a fund will also be created to support the revitalization of the fire-affected towns of Pedrogao Grande, Castanheira de Pera and Figueiro dos Vinhos.
He said that the government will ask the parliament to make an amendment to regulations on the forest management as soon as possible.
Huge forest fires erupted in Pedrogao Grande, some 150 km northeast of Lisbon on Saturday and spread to the neighboring Gois on Tuesday. A total of 64 people were killed and 254 others injured in the fires which also destroyed 40,000 hectares of forest in the past five days.
