European heatwave sets records

Extreme weather sparks wildfires as child dies in Italy

LAS MéDULAS:

A young boy died of heatstroke in Italy while wildfires threatened a UNESCO site in Spain and French cities saw record temperatures, as a heatwave baked Europe on Monday.

The four-year-old Romanian boy died days after being found unconscious in the family's car in Sardinia.

The boy was airlifted to a Rome hospital but died of irreversible brain damage, the hospital told AFP on Monday.

The news came as Italy's health ministry issued a red alert warning for seven major cities, including Bologna and Florence.

Some 11 Italian cities are on red alert for Tuesday, and 16 cities on Wednesday, while around 190 firefighters and the army continue to tackle a wildfire on Mount Vesuvius that caused the closure of the national park to tourists.

Wildfires damaged a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site in northwestern Spain and forced evacuations in three Balkan countries as high temperatures fanned by strong winds left parts of Europe in flames.

Spanish firefighters struggled to contain a wildfire that damaged a Roman-era mining site in Las Medulas and prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate.

High temperatures and winds of up to 40 kilometres per hour (25 mph) created "many difficulties", said Juan Carlos Suarez-Quinones, the Castile and Leon regional environment minister.

"We will not allow people to return until safety in their communities is absolutely guaranteed," he told reporters, estimating that about 700 people had been displaced.

Four people, including two firefighters, suffered minor injuries, he added.

The blaze broke out on Sunday near the Las Medulas area famed for its striking red landscape.

Spain has been in the grip of a heatwave for the past week, with temperatures nearing 40C in many areas and fuelling wildfires.

Castile and Leon alone has seen 13 fires in the past three days, according to Suarez-Quinones, who said that some were believed to have been deliberately started.