The fires in the west of the holiday island of Sardinia continue to rage. Local people describe the situation as “terrible” – hundreds have to be evacuated.
Oristano – On the Italian island of Sardinia, the emergency services continue to fight fires in the west. In the province of Oristano, the operation is going on without a break, the fire brigade announced on Twitter.
60 units fight the flames on the ground. In addition, five fire-fighting planes are in use. According to the Italian civil protection authorities, Greece and France each sent two planes to help with the extinguishing from the air.
Hundreds were evacuated
The flames have been blazing in the western part of the island for days. Hundreds of people had to leave their homes and thousands of hectares of land have been burned so far, the Ansa news agency reported.
Strong winds therefore contributed to the spread of the flames. It was “terrible”, reported a woman from the area of the German press agency. In the air there is a smell of burning everywhere, fire and smoke can also be seen from the beach – even from popular tourist spots. An operator of holiday apartments in the village of Bosa said that the burned area was like a hell. Many farms are affected by the flames.
The Coldiretti Agricultural Association spoke of a “disaster” and considerable damage to agriculture. Pastures, forests and in some cases animals have been lost, it said. During the night, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi expressed his solidarity with the people of Sardinia. Many politicians in Italy were horrified by the pictures from Sardinia on Twitter. dpa
