Child dies in Italy as European heatwave breaks records and fuels wildfires
A young boy tragically died of heatstroke in Italy as a severe heatwave continues to scorch Europe. Wildfires have put a UNESCO World Heritage site in Spain at risk, and French cities are experiencing record-high temperatures, highlighting the intensity of the ongoing heatwave gripping the continent.
The 4-year-old Romanian boy died days after being found unconscious in the family’s car in Sardinia, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
The boy was flown to a Rome hospital but died of irreversible brain damage, the hospital told AFP on Monday (local time).
Italy’s health ministry issued a red alert warning for seven major cities, including Bologna and Florence.
About 11 Italian cities are on red alert for Tuesday, and 16 cities on Wednesday, while around 190 firefighters and the army continue to tackle a wildfire on Mt Vesuvius that closed the national park to tourists.
Unesco site damaged
Wildfires damaged a Unesco World Heritage-listed site in northwestern Spain and forced evacuations in three Balkan countries as high temperatures fanned by strong winds set parts of Europe ablaze.
Spanish firefighters struggled to contain a wildfire that damaged a Roman-era mining site in Las Medulas and prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate.
High temperatures and winds of up to 40 kilometres per hour created “many difficulties”, said Juan Carlos Suarez-Quinones, the Castile and Leon regional environment minister.
“We will not allow people to return until safety in their communities is absolutely guaranteed,” he told reporters, estimating that about 700 people had been displaced.
Four people, including two firefighters, suffered minor injuries, he added.
The blaze broke out on Sunday near the Las Medulas area famed for its striking red landscape.
Spain has been in the grip of a heatwave for the past week, with temperatures nearing 40C in many areas and fuelling wildfires.
Castile and Leon alone has had 13 fires in the past three days, according to Suarez-Quinones, who said some were believed to have been deliberately started.
In the southern tourist town of Tarifa, more than 2000 people were evacuated, some from hotels and beaches, after a fire that had been subdued on Friday flared up again, with more than 100 firefighters battling the flames.
In neighbouring Portugal, firefighters were battling three large wildfires in the centre and north of the country.
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