Hundreds of people battle wildfires in Spain

wildfires in SpainMadrid  - Hundreds of Spanish firefighters and soldiers Wednesday continued battling a string of wildfires following the deaths of four firefighters in one of the blazes.

The victims were surrounded by flames after winds changed direction in Horta de Sant Joan near Tarragona in the east of the country on Tuesday. Four were killed, and two were hospitalized with serious injuries.

The fire destroyed an estimated 800 hectares of vegetation, half of it in Els Ports nature park. Several houses were preventatively evacuated. About a dozen aircraft and helicopters participated in the firefighting effort.

About 2,000 people had meanwhile been evacuated to protect them from a wildfire raging in Collado Mediano near Madrid. A firefighter sustained serious injuries.

Several wildfires were also reported in the central region of Cuenca, where some 300 children were evacuated from summer camps. Temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius aided the fires, some of which were thought to have been sparked by lightning or arson.

Wildfires have claimed seven lives in Spain so far this summer.(dpa)