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Massive fire consumes Benidorm just metres away from tourist hotels
Horrified holidaymakers watched the blaze from balconies in the heart of the Marina Baixa hotspot
An enormous fire broke out in the Armanello area of Benidorm at around 4pm on Tuesday May 16, sending columns of black smoke into the sky that could be seen for miles. Horrified tourists were spotted watching the inferno from the safety of their balconies as the flames licked through nearby scrubland.
The blaze is believed to have originated in abandoned plots of land where rubbish, mattresses and tonnes of other flammable waste have been dumped. Worryingly, the fire broke out just metres away from the main tourist strip and the Pueblo de Benidorm market.
Many firefighting crews battled to bring the blaze under control and an Alpha 02 helicopter and AT-55 plane dropped water from above. Although the fire was stabilised, three teams from the Provincial Consortium of Alicante Firefighters remained on the ground late into the evening to prevent any hot spots from lighting back up.Several nearby homes were evacuated but no injuries have been reported.
The wildfire season has come early to Spain this year as a result of unseasonably high temperatures and the ongoing drought. At the beginning of this month, the entire Valencia region was upgraded to the ‘high’ warning level for forest fires and the Community was placed on ‘pre-emergency alert’.And further south in the Region of Murcia, the forest fire plan has already been activated as wildfires more than doubled in the first four months of the year.
Find all the latest weather and climate change news here or join our Alicante Weather Watch Facebook group for regular updates
Images: Consorcio Provincial Bomberos Alicante
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