Spectacular fire in a village in east London
For the first time in its history, the United Kingdom experienced temperatures exceeding 40°C.
Under the effect of the heat wave that is hitting Europe, the United Kingdom has exceeded the 40°C threshold for the first time.
AFP
Around 100 firefighters were deployed on Tuesday to battle a blaze that raged through a village east of London in record-breaking heat in the UK, firefighters said.
According to images taken from a Sky News helicopter, the fire swept through fields and destroyed several buildings and houses in the village of Wennington, about thirty kilometers from the center of the British capital. The fire spread over an area of 40 hectares, including homes, agricultural buildings and garages, firefighters said in a statement at the end of the day. Fourteen people had to be evacuated because of the disaster, the origin of which is not determined at this stage.
“I was sunbathing in my garden and a black cloud came,” Ciar Meadows, a 30-year-old housewife, told AFP. “Within an hour” the fire “spread to our house”, “our cars disappeared”, she continued. The emergency services “broke our door so that the animals could leave happily, because I could not come back as we were evacuated”, she said, explaining that she is now waiting for news from her house.
More than 40°C recorded
“It’s crazy, crazy the way it started,” said Dennis Crafter, a 54-year-old unemployed resident, flabbergasted by the scale of the disaster. About 100 firefighters and 15 devices were deployed, London firefighters said on Twitter.
Faced with “several large fires across the capital during the record heat wave today”, firefighters in London have launched an emergency procedure which allows more resources to be deployed in terms of rescue services. A dozen fires have been recorded around the capital, affecting in particular grass areas in suburban areas of London.
Under the effect of the heat wave that is hitting Europe, the United Kingdom has exceeded the 40°C threshold for the first time, with 40.3°C recorded in Coningsby, a village in the north of east of England, according to the British weather agency Met Office.
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