Portugal wildfires: At least 2 dead, villages evacuated [Video]

PENALVA DO CASTELO, Portugal –

At least two people died as wildfires raged in central and northern Portugal on Monday, forcing authorities to evacuate villages, close motorways and ask the European Union to send more water-bombing aircraft.

The situation was most dangerous in the northwestern Aveiro district where one forest blaze reached the outskirts of the town of Albergaria-a-Velha and burned several houses, the mayor said.

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More than 1,100 firefighters were battling that fire and three others in the surrounding area. Police shut a stretch of the main highway between Lisbon and Porto as thick smoke blanketed the area.

Police said officers had found the remains of a man who had apparently been working for a forestry company nearby.

In the same area, another person died of a heart attack as the fire approached, and two people were in hospital …