More than 20 people were burned, three of them seriously, when they tried to escape a train engulfed in flames in a forest fire in the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community of eastern Spain, according to officials. from the local press.
The Bejís forest fire, which is progressing uncontrollably in the Alto Palancia region, was caused by strong winds. The convoy, which was traveling between the city of Valencia and Zaragoza, was heading towards that area when it encountered the fire last Tuesday.
The moment the driver saw the fire on the tracks and decided to stop the train to inform the railway authorities, the passengers panicked.
🔥 Three seriously injured from burns and at least 8 minor injuries in the incident of the train affected by the Bejís fire
🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/HMm71gXmta
— CHU Institutional Bodies and United Citizens. (@Corpospolicia1) August 16, 2022
@lasprovincias Direct train to the flames in Torás, people turn to walk along the tracks. Unexplainable. Videos recorded from the bridges of Ragudo pic.twitter.com/NseKIBMMgm
– JC Florentino (@juancflorentino) August 16, 2022
Despite the driver trying to calm the 48 people traveling on the train and explaining that she was about to return to the town of Caudiel to continue the bus journey from there, some passengers managed to break the glass doors and windows. to escape from the wagons.
The travelers practically burst into flames. Many managed to get back on the train, while others reached Viver, a nearby commune, on foot across the tracks. Late at night, the president of the region, Ximo Puig, reported that there were injured, but did not specify their number.
You’ve probably heard of fires that accurately,
exceed the capacity of extinction. See how they live #firefighters when they have to protect life and property. The afternoon of 08-16-22 will forever be marked as one of these fires. #IFBejís pic.twitter.com/RdPpWMshDs
— Bombers Dipcas (@BombersDipcas) August 17, 2022
🔥🇪🇦 Update #IIFF in Com. Valencian#IFVallEbo in Alicante, 11,500 hectares#IFBejís in Castellón, 3,500 ha (could be around 6,000 ha). 1000 evacuated. About 20 injured.#IFUsers in CS, 800 ha
📽️ Beji’s fire tonight pic.twitter.com/k42kZLllMa
— Noticias TerraGea (@TerraGeaNews) August 17, 2022
The two most serious injuries are at the La Fe hospital in Valencia, one of the country’s main burn treatment centers. One of them is a 58-year-old woman, with a serious prognosis, who was transferred by helicopter. The other is a 15-year-old girl with burns on 7% of her body.
A woman and her son were transferred to the Clinical Hospital in Valencia, while two other people were treated at the Sagunto Hospital. In addition, between 8 and 10 passengers received medical attention in Caudiel and were later taken to the Jérica field hospital. Meanwhile, the Red Cross helped eight other people in Viver, who suffered minor injuries.
See also
After Bejís and Torás, Tereza is evacuated and Viver is closed. The railway line has been cut in Caudiel, where there are already injuries due to the fire.#IFBejispic.twitter.com/Ds9LNwxdlW
— FJA (@fralbaro) August 16, 2022
Some passengers have recorded the situation from inside the train carriages, images shared on social networks and where you can see the proximity of the flames to the windows.
The passengers of this train were not the only ones injured as a result of this fire. Two firefighters were also injured while extinguishing the fire in the nearby municipality of Torás, after being surprised by a sudden turn of the wind that forced the evacuation of at least three towns.
The community of Valencia is the latest Spanish region to be hit by flames during a summer in which a prolonged heat wave has contributed to numerous fires across the country. So far this year, more than 245,000 hectares have already burned, 37% of the area destroyed by fire in the entire European Union, 657,988 hectares, an absolute record since records began.
The Bejís fire, along with the Vall d’Ebo fire in the same region, has already burned more than 14,000 hectares, forced the closure of three roads and caused the evacuation of more than 3,000 people and the evacuation of more than 15 municipalities. .
Original news from RT in Spanish.
