2 die in Italy’s Sicily wildfires

Two people died as rescuers evacuated hundreds after wildfires consumed large parts of northern Sicily, Italy, on Friday and Saturday, according to local media reports.

The fire blazed areas around the Sicilian capital of Palermo, especially the Cefalu coastal resort town, local media said.

A woman and an elderly man reportedly perished while fleeing the blaze.

Rescuers evacuated around 700 people from a hotel near Cefalu on Friday night. They returned to the hotel after the danger perished.

Reports said the Police and firefighters were looking into the cause of the latest fire. Although, there were no immediate indications of what might have started the fires.

Wildfires have caused a record-high damage to the southern Italian island this year.

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Between late May and August, a long and dry heatwave put much of Italy in its grips.

The weather has cooled since then, but the threat of wildfires still remained as there were unseasonably light rainfalls.

Coldiretti, Italy’s main agricultural union, estimated in August that wildfires had consumed more than 600 square kilometres of land on Sicily this year.

This is more than wildfire recorded in all of 2022. The latest round of fires will add to that total.

Arson is suspected in several of the wildfires in Sicily and elsewhere in Italy this year, according to regional officials and news reports. But no arson-related arrests have been made public so far. (Xinhua)