Updated 8.22pm
The first group of 20 Maltese Civil Protection officers left Malta for Portugal on Friday to support efforts battling wildfires in the country.
In total, 40 officers will be travelling to Portugal as the country is gripped by wildfires triggered by an intense heatwave, drought, and water shortages.
Portugal has mobilised more than 1,900 firefighters to battle four major blazes. One fire in the central area of Trancoso has razed around 14,000 hectares since Saturday. AFP reported that the former mayor of the eastern town of Guarda, Carlos Damaso, died on Friday while fighting the fires in his region.
Portugal has invoked the EU’s civil protection mechanism to ask for help, requesting four firefighting aircraft to use until Monday.
Southern Europe continues to endure a hellish summer suffering from a heatwave that has now lasted almost two weeks and forest fires that have left a third person dead in Spain.
A firefighter stands at a firefighter truck as a wildfire approaches Benvende village, in Trancoso, Portugal. Photo: AFPCPD director general Peter Paul Coleiro appealed for greater public awareness of fire risks in dry rural areas during the summer months.
He added that, despite the deployment, the department will continue to have sufficient resources to provide its full service locally.
This is the fifth international operation in two years for Maltese firefighters. The CPD has provided support in similar circumstances in Greece, and “extraordinary” circumstances in Turkey and Libya.
During a visit to the CPD offices before the firefighters’ departure, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri pointed out the investment made in recent years in equipment, training, and working conditions enabled the department to safeguard Malta while extending its assistance abroad.