Wildfires sweeping across Portugal have injured 29 people and destroyed more than 1,500 hectares of vegetation as record temperatures threaten to fan the flames.
Temperatures are expected to reach 43 degrees on Tuesday which is expected to make the situation - most extreme in northern and central parts of the country - worse.
Twelve firefighters and 17 civilians required medical treatment for minor injuries, local media said on Sunday.
The EU on Sunday activated its firefighting air fleet assistance programme which will allow member states to aid Portuguese firefighters tackling the blaze.
More than 700 soldiers were dispatched to the area over the weekend. The Government has also banned people from areas said to be at special risk of wildfire.
Fires started burning in several areas last week and since the initial alarms were sounded 250 new blazes have sparked. At least 1,500 hectares of vegetation had been destroyed by Sunday night.
The government has announced a “state of contingency” lasting until Friday.
President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has cancelled a trip to New York and prime minister Antonio Costa cancel a planned trip to Mozambique as a result of the fires.
“Preventing fires is the best help we can give our firefighters,” Mr Costa wrote on Twitter - adding that no bonfires should be started outside.
The wildfires follow a period of drought, which affected 28 per cent of the country in June.
