France continues to battle biggest wildfire in decades

Firefighters are battling for a third day to contain France's biggest wildfire in nearly eight decades, which has burnt more than 16,000 hectares, killed one person, and destroyed dozens of houses.

- RICH BOOTH

As well as the person who has died, three are missing, and two people, including a firefighter, are in critical condition, local authorities said. 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 broadcaster BFM TV. He added that he hoped the blaze could be contained later in the day.

The fire, around 100km from the border with Spain and close to the Mediterranean, began on Tuesday and has spread rapidly. It has already swept through an area one and a half times the size of Paris. Officials have said it is France’s biggest wildfire since 1949. Environment minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told radio station France Info that the fire was now advancing more slowly.