People take pictures of the smoke rising from a wildfire at Curral dos Romeiros, Funchal in Madeira island on August 9, 2016 | Joana Sousa/AFP via Getty Images
EU will assist Portugal to fight island fire
Portugal requested help as flames rage.
European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides confirmed Wednesday that Portugal has asked for help from the EU to fight a catastrophic fire on the island of Madeira.
He tweeted that “we are working with Member States to mobilize assistance.”
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By activating the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, Portugal will now receive assistance from other European countries. A Commission spokesman confirmed that Italy had sent a firefighting plane, in addition to two already deployed by Spain.
In addition, the European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre is actively monitoring the forest fires using satellite imagery.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Tuesday he would ask for assistance if the fires had not calmed down by next Monday. However with the island’s capital Funchal now threatened, and with three people reported dead, the situation has escalated dramatically in the past 24 hours.