Second person perishes in Ávila forest fire in Spain

Second person perishes in Ávila forest fire in Spain
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By m.p. - Jul 29, 2009 - 1:20 PM
He is the second to lose his life in the Ávila fire, and the eighth to die in wildfires this July

Smoke from the wildfire seen near Mombeltrán Castle - EFE

Eight people have now lost their lives in the forest fires which have been blazing across the country this month, with the death in Ávila on Wednesday of a bulldozer driver sent by the Madrid Region to assist the fire-fighting operation in the south of the province. He is named by Europa Press as 40 year old Juan Carlos Rodríguez Matabuena, and is understood to have died shortly before 8am when he was run over by his own vehicle.

He became the second person to have died in the blaze in the Valle del Tiétar in the space of 24 hours, after the death on Tuesday of a 63 year old retired teacher, Javier Heras Artero, who was trapped in his home by the flames in the area known as Las Majadas.

A missing woman who was also feared to have died was later found safe and sound.

The Level 2 wildfire has affected three municipalities in southern Ávila: Arenas de San Pedro,

EFE

El Arenal and Mombeltrán. Urbanisations and a monastery were evacuated in Mombeltrán, where part of the N-502 road was also cut off by the flames.

EFE reports the fire is believed to have been started intentionally.

The fire affecting Las Hurdes in Extremadura was meanwhile reported this Wednesday to be stable, but not yet definitively under control. It destroyed more than 3,000 hectares in this part of Cáceres province.

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Segunda víctima mortal en el incendio de Ávila

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