Pilot killed in plane crash whilst fighting forest fire
Pilot killed in plane crash whilst fighting forest fire
15 September 2014
published by www.ews.gnom.es
Spain — A HYDROPLANE pilot has died in an air-crash whilst tackling a massive forest fire in Almansa (Albacete province).
The 44-year-old from Murcia was refilling his craft with water in the village of Alpera, not far from the site of the blaze, when his craft went down late on Saturday night.
It is not known why the plane crashed, but the firefighter was killed instantly, emergency services say.
The huge inferno was finally brought under control last night (Sunday) but is said to be still burning and those evacuated from their homes have not yet been given the all-clear to return.
Nearly 200 members of the fire brigade were called out on Friday to deal with the blaze, which has spread across two federal regions.
Columns of smoke could be seen from as far away as Yecla (Murcia province) and led to numerous panicked calls to the 112 emergency hotline.