Helicopter rescues six trapped hikers after forest fire breaks out near Valencian town of Barx

A forest fire that broke out near the Valencian town of Barx left six hikers trapped at the top of Monduver mountain along with a fire prevention officer.

The 112 services of the Generalitat Valenciana confirmed just after 3pm this afternoon, Sunday, April 2, that a forest fire had been declared near the Valencian town of Barx. As indicated by the Emergency Department, the flames appear to have originated next to the road leading to the municipality of Monduver.

Si no envieu més aeris es cremarà tot!!!! pic.twitter.com/r6m8KkTPFR

— Rosalita (@rosalitalelo) April 2, 2023

Due to the proximity of the fire to forested areas that could subsequently affect the population, Situation 1 of the PEIF was established. Three units were initially deployed by the Generalitat, but within 30 minutes, 112 had to redouble its efforts in the La Safor region, tripling the dispatched resources.

In addition to dealing with extinguishing the fire, the Generalitat personnel had to rescue seven people by helicopter. These included six hikers who were walking at the top of Monduver at the time the forest fire was declared. A fire prevention officer was also among those evacuated.

By 4pm, the magnitude of the blaze was such that the column of smoke was visible from the city of Valencia. As a result, 112 announced a new increase in the resources being sent to tackle the outbreak.

Another forest fire was declared earlier today near the Costa Blanca town of Altea, although it was quickly dealt with and extinguished. Firefighting personnel were also deployed to deal with a fire that broke out close to the Sierra Calderona, in Estivella, as reported by lasprovincias.es.

🔥El Centre de Coordinació d'Emergències de la @generalitat rep avís per incendi forestal en Altea prop del barranc de Riquet.

Mitjans mobilitzats a l'#IFAltea:

➡️ 1 aeri de la @generalitat
➡️ 3 unitats de @GVAbforestals, una d'elles helitransportada
➡️ 2 autobombes
➡️ 3…

— Emergències 112CV (@GVA112) April 2, 2023

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