TRAGIC

At Least 62 Dead in Portugal Wildfires

A lightning strike is thought to be the cause of the blaze.

At least 62 people have been killed in wildfires that swept through central Portugal on Saturday, in what the prime minister described as “the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known in years.” Dozens of other people were injured in the fires, which are believed to have started after a tree was struck by lightning in the Pedrogao Grande area. “This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we cannot remember a tragedy of these proportions,” Pedrogao Grande Mayor Valdemar Alves said. About 700 firefighters have been battling the blaze since Saturday, though Prime Minister Antonio Costa warned that they were having trouble accessing the affected area. Many of the victims were reportedly killed in their cars when the flames engulfed a road between Figueiro dos Vinhos and Castanheira de Pera.