Firefighters have brought a large forest fire under control on the Portuguese island of Madeira with the help of two Spanish firefighting planes, Antonio Nunes said , regional head of civil protection, quoted by DPA and BTA.
The planes from Spain arrived on Thursday at the request of the European Union after Portugal sought help from the bloc. Both twin-engine propeller planes can carry around 6,000 liters of water. Foggy weather with a high level of humidity also helped their success.
The Spanish planes were mainly located in the mountains around Pico Ruivo - the highest mountain on the island, over 1,800 meters high. Madeira's only firefighting helicopter was trying to contain the flames without success.