Firefighters gain control of Madeira wildfire aided by Spanish planes

Firefighters have brought a major wildfire in a forest in the Portugese island of Madeira under control aided by two Spanish firefighting aircraft, according to António Nunes, the regional head of civil protection on Saturday.

The aircraft from Spain arrived on Thursday at the request of the European Union after Portugal sought help from the bloc. Each of the two twin-engine propeller planes can carry around 6,000 litres of water.

Their efforts were further helped by the foggy weather, with a high humidity level.

The Spanish planes were mainly deployed in the mountains around Pico Ruivo, the island's highest mountain at over 1,800 metres. Madeira's sole firefighting helicopter had been trying to contain the flames without success.

The forest fire, which broke out on August 14, has destroyed about 5,000 hectares of natural landscape, according to data from the Copernicus Earth observation programme.

No injuries or damage to buildings have been reported so far but scientists lament the significant damage to the environment and destruction of flora and fauna.

Criminal police are investigating the cause of the fire, LUSA news agency reported. The regional head of government of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, has already spoken of arson, the report said.