Discarded cigarette sparks Spain’s deadly forest fires
July 24, 2012
Firefighters are still battling to control two deadly forest fires raging in the border area between France and northern Catalonia in Spain.
Four people have died and vast stretches of woodland have been destroyed.
The area includes the Costa Brava, one of the most popular beach destinations in Spain.
The town of La Junquera is at the heart of the bigger of the two fires which is thought to have been started by a carelessly thrown cigarette.
Some 150,000 residents inland have been told to stay at home, and ash from the fires has begun to reach the Barcelona area.
The four victims have all been French. One man died of a heart attack, another from burns.
A father and his 15-year-old daughter were killed trying to escape the flames by jumping down a cliffside in the coastal town of Port Bou.
Another 24 people have been injured eight of them seriously.
