Portugal forest fire
The huge forest fire that erupted on June 17 in central Portugal killed at least 64 people and injured hundreds more, with many trapped in their cars by the flames. It is the deadliest natural disaster to hit the country in decades. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, as a claim stating arsonists may have started the devastating blaze emerged on Wednesday.
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National Republican Guards GIPS and firefighters try to extinguish a fire in a forest after a wildfire took dozens of lives on June 19 near Pedrogao Grande, in Leiria district, Portugal. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
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A road meanders among burnt forest areas affected by a wildfire in Vale do Cambra, some 30 km to Pedrograo Grande, on June 20. (MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Firefighters battle the fire in Vale das Porcas, Alvaiazere, central Portugal, June 18. (PAULO CUNHA/EPA)
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A burned car sits next to a forest after a wildfire took dozens of lives on June 18 near Castanheira de Pera, in Leiria district, Portugal. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
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A couple stands on the roadside watching firefighters in Figueiro dos Vinhos on June 18. Luisilda Malheiro and Eduardo Abreu lost almost all the animals of their farm during the wildfire. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Portuguese Republican National Guard soldiers battle with the forest fire in Capela Sao Neitel, Alvaiazere, central Portugal, June 18. (PAULO CUNHA/EPA)
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A policeman walks on a road past burnt cars after a wildfire in Figueiro dos Vinhos on June 18. Many victims burned to death in their cars while trying to escape. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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A forest in flames during a wildfire near the village of Mega Fundeira. Portugal declared three days of national mourning from June 18, after the most deadly forest fire in its recent history, raged through the center of the country. (MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images)
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A woman watches flames approaching her house on June 19 in a village near Pedrogao Grande, in Leiria district, Portugal. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
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Trees burn on June 19 near Castanheira de Pera, in Leiria district, Portugal. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
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A firefighter battles with a fire in Pampilhosa da Serra, central of Portugal, June 18. (PAULO NOVAIS)
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A local resident looks at flames in Vale das Porcas, Alvaiazere, central Portugal, June 18. (PAULO CUNHA/EPA)
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Roses were placed on the remains of a car in which a woman was killed after going off the road in the village of Nodeirinho, near Pedrogao Grande, central Portugal, June 19. (Armando Franca/Associated Press)
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A firefighter helps a woman during a forest fire in Pedrogao Grande, Leiria District, Center of Portugal, June 17. (PAULO CUNHA/EPA)
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The wildfire is reflected in a stream at Penela, Coimbra, central Portugal, on June 18. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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A woman reacts during the fire in Pampilhosa da Serra, central of Portugal, June 18. (PAULO NOVAIS/EPA)
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Firefighters protect themselves as a Canadair firefighting plane drops its load on the wildfire in Vale da Ponte, Pedrograo Grande, on June 20. (MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Flames rise during a forest fire in Vale das Porcas, Alvaiazere, central Portugal, June 18. (PAULO CUNHA/EPA)
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British citizen Daniel Starling walks among the debris of his burnt house in the village of Figueira, near Pedrogao Grande, central Portugal, June 19. (Armando Franca/Associated Press)
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Smoke rises above trees during the forest fire in Pedrogao Grande, Leiria District, Center of Portugal, June 17. (PAULO CUNHA/EPA)
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A policeman stands by a dead body of a victim of a wildfire in Pedrogao, on June 18. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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People are evacuated from their houses by Red Cross and police members due the proximity of a dangerous wildfire at Torgal, Castanheira de Pera on June 18. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Flames rise near houses in Vale das Porcas, Alvaiazere, central Portugal, June 18. (PAULO CUNHA /EPA)
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Residents cover their mouths and noses during a wildfire that threatens the village of Torgal, Castanheira de Pera, on June 18. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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A firefighter battles with a fire in Pampilhosa da Serra, central of Portugal, June 18. (PAULO NOVAIS/EPA)
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Locals use buckets trying to extinguish a wildfire in Atalaia Fundeira near Cernache do Bonjardin on June 19. (FRANCISCO LEONG/AFP/Getty Images)
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Smoke comes up behind bushes after firefighters extinguished a fire the approached Mega Fundeira village on June 20 near Picha, in Leiria district, Portugal. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
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A man passes by his truck burnt during the wildfire in Figueiro dos Vinhos on June 18. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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A helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Carvalho, next to Pampilhosa da Serra, on June 19. (MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Firefighters use a hose to combat a wildfire in Vale da Ponte, Pedrograo Grande, on June 20. (MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Maria Manuela Mendes sits beside her burnt house in Mendeira, near Cernache do Bonjardin, on June 19. (FRANCISCO LEONG/AFP/Getty Images)
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A firefighter takes a rest as she prepares to battle approaching flames after a wildfire took dozens of lives on June 20, near Picha, in Leiria district, Portugal. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
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Burned trees near Avelar in the municipality of Ansiao, Portugal, June 20. (ANDRE KOSTERS/EPA)
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A local man battles a fire as he arrives back to his village near Castanheira de Pera, in Leiria district, Portugal on June 19. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
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People watch the columns of smoke rising from a wildfire in Gois, Coimbra district, on June 20. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Family members and colleagues attend the funeral ceremonies of a fireman in Castanheira de Pera, Portugal, June 21. The firefighter died due to serious injuries after combating wildfires in Pedrogao Grande. (MIGUEL A. LOPES/EPA)
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Burnt trees stand enveloped in smoke on the road leading to the village of Nodeirinho, near Pedrogao Grande, central Portugal, June 19. (Armando Franca/Associated Press)
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Wreckage of a garage in an area devastated by a wildfire close to the village of Figueiro dos Vinhos. (MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP/Getty Images)
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A Portuguese soldier checks the area and empty properties for possible human remains on June 19, near Castanheira de Pera, in Leiria district, Portugal. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
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A burned car stands on the side of the road on June 19 near Castanheira de Pera, in Leiria district, Portugal. (Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)