Wildfires in Portugal force further evacuations

Deadly wildfires raging in Portugal have forced more people to evacuate their homes as crews battled dozens of blazes in the north of the country.

Stifling heat and strong winds have fanned a spate of forest fires across the north and centre of Portugal, that have left seven people dead since the weekend.

Civil protection authorities listed 42 active fires on its website and said they had mobilised around 3,900 firefighters and over 1,000 vehicles.

In the Gondomar municipality, just outside Porto, authorities carried out more evacuations on last night.

 Three firefighters died yesterday when their vehicle was trapped by the flames, civil protection authorities said, bringing the fire-related toll up to seven, with some 50 injured.