Over the weekend, wildfires in central Portugal killed at least 63 people and injured 135 others, many of them killed while trapped in their cars. More than 1,600 firefighters are still battling the fires, which are believed to have been triggered by lightning strikes during a recent heat wave. Portugal called for three days of mourning to be observed for the victims of one of the most deadly forest fires in its recent history.</s>The UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed sadness over the death of 62 people in the wildfires fires that hit the Pedrógão Grande region of Portugal in Sunday.

Guterres, in a statement issued on Sunday, condoled the Portuguese Government and people, saying he was “shocked and horrified” at the many lives claimed by the raging wildfires.

Portugal has declared three days of mourning as 62 people were declared killed by the fire, most of them trapped in their cars by flames as treacherous wind drove the blaze beyond firefighters control.

The government has declared Sunday through Tuesday national days of mourning for the victims of a fire “which has caused an irreparable loss of human life”, with casualties expected to rise.

Guterres said he spoke earlier on Sunday with the President of Portugal, Marcelo de Sousa, and with the Prime Minister, António Costa, expressing his deep sadness.

According to reports, the fast-moving wildfires ripped through the forested Pedrógão Grande central region of Portugal, some 150 kilometers (95 miles) northeast of Lisbon, leaving dozens dead and more injured.

“I wish a speedy recovery to the injured. At this time of loss, my thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims,” Guterres said.

The UN chief commended the efforts of government agencies, firefighters, emergency responders and civil society organizations that are sparing no efforts to battle the wildfire and help people in need.

“The UN stands ready to assist in any way possible,” the Secretary-General concluded.</s>Image copyright Reuters Image caption The fires have claimed the lives at least 64 people since Saturday

Reports that a firefighting plane crashed during an operation to tackle huge blazes in central Portugal have been denied by the country's civil protection authority.

This contradicts earlier reports that a Canadair aircraft went down near the central Pedrógão Grande area.

More than 1,000 firefighters on the ground and planes from several countries are battling the fires.

The fires have claimed the lives of at least 64 people since Saturday.

Many of the victims died in their cars as they tried to escape.

More than 130 people have been injured.

Portugal fires: Varzeas mourns villagers who fled

Civil protection officials have said they expect the blazes to be under control soon, but warn that soaring temperatures are hampering efforts.

The week's highest temperatures in the area are expected to reach about 38C (100F) and, together with windy conditions, could reignite fires that have already been brought under control.

Why are Portugal's wildfires so deadly?

Wildfires are an annual menace in Portugal. More broke out there between 1993 and 2013 than in Spain, France, Italy or Greece, the European Environment Agency reported last year, despite the country's relatively small geographical size.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Gareth Roberts: 'You could hear the roar of the fire coming... we just sat and waited to die'

Given that, was this year's tragedy preventable? Could Portugal have done anything more to save lives and minimise the damage?

Read more: Just what makes Portugal such a tinderbox?

One of the worst-hit areas was around the village of Nodeirinho. Thirty bodies were found inside cars and another 17 next to vehicles on the N-236 road.

Portuguese media have dubbed the N-236 the "road of death".

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has questioned why the emergency services did not close the road.</s>A Canadair water-dropping plane has crashed in central Portugal while fighting the wildfires that have killed 64 people, an official says.

Maria Jose Andre, from the Air Accident Office, said that the Civil Protection Agency, which is overseeing firefighting operations, informed her office on Tuesday afternoon that the plane had crashed.

She says her office immediately sent a crash investigation team to the area, but that she had no details about the plane, its crew or where the crash happened.

Officials with the Portuguese government and the Civil Protection Agency said they could not confirm the crash.

Portugal’s secretary of state for the interior, Jorge Gomes, said: “We are investigating if (the reports) are true.”

Civil Protection Agency spokesman Fausto Coutinho says authorities had received reports of a plane crash near where wildfires are raging and dispatched a helicopter to check.

A reporter for a Portuguese public broadcaster says he heard a loud explosion in hills about six miles from the region where firefighters are battling the blaze.

Antena 1 public radio reporter Pedro Sa Guerra says there was thick smoke over the area on Tuesday caused by the devastating wildfire in Pedrogao Grande.

He says a local woman told him she saw a plane crash in a fireball.</s>A water-bombing plane fighting huge forest fires in central Portugal has crashed, local officials say.

They say the Canadair aircraft went down near Pedrógão Grande. So far there has been no information about casualties.

More than 1,000 firefighters on the ground and aircraft from several countries are battling the blazes.

The fires have claimed the lives of at least 64 people and injured more than 130 since Saturday.

Many of the victims died in their cars as they tried to escape.

Civil protection officials have said they expect the blazes to be under control soon, but warn that soaring temperatures are hampering efforts.

The week's highest temperatures in the area are expected to reach about 38C (100F) and, together with windy conditions, could reignite fires that have already been brought under control.

Why are Portugal's wildfires so deadly?

Wildfires are an annual menace in Portugal. More broke out there between 1993 and 2013 than in Spain, France, Italy or Greece, the European Environment Agency reported last year, despite the country's relatively small geographical size.

Given that, was this year's tragedy preventable? Could Portugal have done anything more to save lives and minimise the damage?

Read more: Just what makes Portugal such a tinderbox?

One of the worst-hit areas was around the village of Nodeirinho. Thirty bodies were found inside cars and another 17 next to vehicles on the N-236 road.

Portuguese media have dubbed the N-236 the "road of death".

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has questioned why the emergency services did not close the road.</s>An official with Portugal’s Air Accident Office says a Canadair water-dropping plane has crashed in central Portugal while fighting wildfires that killed 64 people.

Maria Jose Andre told The Associated Press that the Civil Protection Agency, which is overseeing firefighting operations, informed her office Tuesday afternoon that the plane had crashed.

She says her office immediately sent a crash investigation team to the area but that she had no details about the plane, its crew or where the crash happened.

Officials with the Portuguese government and the Civil Protection Agency said they could not confirm the crash.

Portugal’s secretary of state for the interior, Jorge Gomes, said: “We are investigating if (the reports) are true.”

Civil Protection Agency spokesman Fausto Coutinho says authorities had received reports of a plane crash near where wildfires are raging and dispatched a helicopter to check.</s>LISBON, June 20 (Reuters) - An airplane involved in firefighting efforts to extinguish huge forest fires in central Portugal crashed on Tuesday, local media reported.

Television stations SIC and TVI said the Canadair aircraft had crashed near Pedrogao Grande, centre of the biggest fire that has killed 64 people since Saturday.

News agency Lusa cited a source from the civil protection agency saying a helicopter was on its way to where the plane had gone down.</s>By The Associated Press

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Latest on the fatal wildfires in Portugal (all times local):

An official with Portugal’s Air Accident Office says a Canadair water-dropping plane has crashed in central Portugal while fighting wildfires that killed 64 people.

Maria Jose Andre told The Associated Press that the Civil Protection Agency, which is overseeing firefighting operations, informed her office Tuesday afternoon that the plane had crashed.

She says her office immediately sent a crash investigation team to the area but that she had no details about the plane, its crew or where the crash happened.

Officials with the Portuguese government and the Civil Protection Agency said they could not confirm the crash.

Portugal’s secretary of state for the interior, Jorge Gomes, said: “We are investigating if (the reports) are true.”

Civil Protection Agency spokesman Fausto Coutinho says authorities had received reports of a plane crash near where wildfires are raging and dispatched a helicopter to check.

Firefighters in Portugal say they are close to bringing under control a major wildfire that killed 64 people in the central area of the country.

More than 1,000 firefighters and nine water-dropping aircraft are battling the blaze in Pedrogao Grande, which is raging for a third consecutive day.

The Civil Protection Agency says it hopes to contain the flames Tuesday, though temperatures forecast to reach 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) and gusting winds remain a threat.

The death toll was raised from 63 to 64 late Monday.

Government officials say Prime Minister Antonio Costa has ordered an investigation into what happened on Saturday night, when the deaths occurred.</s>LISBON, Portugal — Emergency services in Portugal said Tuesday they were making headway in controlling a major wildfire that killed 64 people in the central area of the country, but the welcome news came as another blaze nearby grew in size and amid reports that a water-dropping plane had crashed.

The Civil Protection Agency said about 1,200 firefighters and nine water-dropping aircraft were fighting the deadly wildfire in Pedrogao Grande, which was raging for a third consecutive day about 90 miles north of Lisbon. Officials said the blaze was mostly contained, though still burning fiercely.

Later in the day, an official with Portugal’s Air Accident Office said a Canadair water-dropping plane has crashed in central Portugal while fighting the wildfires. Maria Jose Andre told The Associated Press that the Civil Protection Agency, which is overseeing firefighting operations, informed her office that the plane had crashed.

Her office immediately sent a crash investigation team to the area but that she had no details about the plane, its crew or where the crash happened, she said.

Officials with the Portuguese government and the Civil Protection Agency said they could not confirm the crash.

“We are investigating if (the reports) are true,” Secretary of State for the Interior Jorge Gomes said.

Civil Protection Agency spokesman Fausto Coutinho says authorities had received reports of a plane crash near where wildfires are raging and dispatched a helicopter to check.

Some firefighting resources were being diverted to Gois, about 20 kilometers from Pedrogao Grande, where almost 800 firefighters and four planes were battling the flames. Commander Vitor Vaz Pinto told reporters said the Gois wildfire was “very fast and very explosive” and had forced the evacuation of 11 hill villages.

Temperatures forecast to reach 109 degrees, gusting winds and bone-dry woodland were fueling the blazes, Vaz Pinto said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Antonio Costa ordered an investigation into what happened on Saturday night when the deaths occurred, 47 of them on a road as people fled the flames.

Costa’s order asked three questions: whether extreme weather could explain the scale of the disaster, why emergency services communications at times didn’t work, and why the road where the deaths occurred was not closed.</s>The Latest on the fatal wildfires in Portugal (all times local):

A spokesman for Portugal's Civil Protection Agency says he cannot confirm that a Canadair water-dropping aircraft has crashed while fighting deadly wildfires in the central part of the country.

Vitor Vaz Pinto says all 13 planes hired by the agency to help fight the blazes were accounted for on Tuesday evening.

But 30 water-dropping aircraft were engaged in battling the blazes, some operating under bilateral agreements with the Portuguese government and others as part of a European Union cooperation agreement.

Planes from Spain, France, Italy and Morocco are among those helping to fight the fires.

Vaz Pinto told a briefing for journalists on Tuesday: "I can't confirm or deny that any aircraft are missing."

An official with Portugal's Air Accident Office earlier told The Associated Press and Portuguese media that the Civil Protection Agency informed the office that a Canadair had crashed.

Vaz Pinto says airborne search-and-rescue teams are looking for wreckage among the smoke-shrouded hills where wildfires are still raging.

A reporter for a Portuguese public broadcaster says he heard a loud explosion in hills about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the region where firefighters are battling a fatal wildfire and a water-dropping airplane reportedly crashed.

Antena 1 public radio reporter Pedro Sa Guerra says there was thick smoke over the area on Tuesday caused by the devastating wildfire in Pedrogao Grande, where 64 people died on Saturday when a blaze swept across the region.

He says a local woman told him she saw a plane crash in a fireball on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Spain's Ministry of Defense said it had not lost a plane, denying earlier reports that a Spanish water-dropping plane had crashed.

An official with Portugal's Air Accident Office says a Canadair water-dropping plane has crashed in central Portugal while fighting wildfires that killed 64 people.

Maria Jose Andre told The Associated Press that the Civil Protection Agency, which is overseeing firefighting operations, informed her office Tuesday afternoon that the plane had crashed.

She says her office immediately sent a crash investigation team to the area but that she had no details about the plane, its crew or where the crash happened.

Officials with the Portuguese government and the Civil Protection Agency said they could not confirm the crash.

Portugal's secretary of state for the interior, Jorge Gomes, said: "We are investigating if (the reports) are true."

Civil Protection Agency spokesman Fausto Coutinho says authorities had received reports of a plane crash near where wildfires are raging and dispatched a helicopter to check.

Firefighters in Portugal say they are close to bringing under control a major wildfire that killed 64 people in the central area of the country.

More than 1,000 firefighters and nine water-dropping aircraft are battling the blaze in Pedrogao Grande, which is raging for a third consecutive day.

The Civil Protection Agency says it hopes to contain the flames Tuesday, though temperatures forecast to reach 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) and gusting winds remain a threat.

The death toll was raised from 63 to 64 late Monday.

Government officials say Prime Minister Antonio Costa has ordered an investigation into what happened on Saturday night, when the deaths occurred.
A Canadair firefighting plane reportedly crashes in Pedrógão Grande, central Portugal, while tackling raging wildfires. However, this claim has been denied by Portuguese authorities.