Nation battles huge fire for second day

French firefighters battled for a second day yesterday to contain its biggest wildfire in nearly eight decades, which has burnt over 16,000 hectares (160 square-kilometres) and killed one person.

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Reuters TV images showed plumes of smoke rising over the forest area in the region of Aude in southern France.

“As of now, the fire has not been brought under control,” Christophe Magny, one of the officials leading the firefighting operation, told BFM TV.

The blaze near the border with Spain towards the Mediterranean Sea began earlier this week and has already swept through an area bigger than Paris. Officials have said it is France's biggest wildfire since 1949.

Scientists say the Mediterranean region’s hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires.

With Europe facing fresh August heatwaves as concerns grow over the impact of global warming, many areas are on alert for the risk of wildfires.

The French blaze, which started on Tuesday, has destroyed or damaged 25 homes in the southern Aude department, where some 2,000 firefighters are struggling to control the largest wildfire in France this summer.

It has killed one person and injured 13 others, two of them seriously.

“The fire is still very active and the situation remains unfavourable,” said Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture, citing drought conditions, rising temperatures and strong winds.