VIDEO | Wildfires in Italy's Sicily put lives in danger, people flee island

Wildfires raging across Italy's Sicily have endangered the lives of the residents of the island. In a video that is doing the rounds on Twitter, two women are seen trying to flee the area in their car. But as they drive on, smoke and massive fire can be seen spreading in the area. Though horrified, they somehow managed to escape.

Posting the video on Twitter, a user wrote, “Extremely dangerous situation in Sicily. Wildfire burning close to cars driving on the highway.”

The user also posted another video in which residential areas were seen covered with smoke billowing from the fires.

Wildfires on the Italian island of Sicily have killed three elderly people till now. According to reports from Italian media, the remains of an elderly couple in their 70s were discovered in their scorched residence on the outskirts of Palermo, the regional capital. Meanwhile, a woman in her 80s died after the fire engulfed her home in Palermo. Speaking about the incident, Sicilian President Renato Schifani said "scorching heat and unprecedented devastating fires" had turned Tuesday into "one of the most difficult days in decades".

Italian firefighters reported that they fought close to 1,400 fires from Sunday to Tuesday, with approximately 650 of them occurring in Sicily and 390 in Calabria.

Apart from Italy, the fires have also endangered the lives of people in Greece. This week, thousands of individuals were forced to evacuate from the region. Greece has battled over 600 fires in the past 12 days, reported AFP quoting the federal government. Experts have noted that Greece, which is accustomed to summer heatwaves, is currently enduring one of the longest periods of intense heat in recent years. On Wednesday, the office of the EU Crisis Management Commissioner announced the deployment of more than 490 firefighters and seven planes to various locations in Greece. This action was taken under the bloc's civil protection mechanism.

(With inputs from agencies)

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