A heatwave continued to feed fires on Tuesday across Italy's central and southern regions, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated, according to local media reports.
One of the worst hit areas was the Gargano peninsula in southern Italy, Puglia, where more than a 1,000 people were trapped on beaches near the coastal resorts of Peschici and Vieste after fires spread across adjacent woodlands, the reports said.
Several bathers were reported to have been injured by the flames.
Another 250 people had to be evacuated from homes, resorts and camp sites in and around Peschici.
In the neighboring town of Vieste, schools were reopened to shelter tourists fleeing seaside hotels and camping grounds.
All camping sites in the area were subsequently closed as a precautionary measure.
Some rail services between Rome and the east coast were also disrupted by the fires.
In Calabria, a region in southern Italy, temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius.
The authorities were fighting ten major fires and dozens of smaller ones with the help of two Canadair aircrafts and a helicopter, according to the reports.
More than 250 people were evacuated in Ortona dei Marsi in Abruzzo as a precaution, while in the lakeside town of Castel Gandolfo near Rome, two hotels and 25 villas had to be evacuated and two houses suffered damage.
Source: Xinhua
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