Police hunt for Corsica arsonists

The hunt is on in France to find out who could be behind deadly forest fires that have ravaged thousands of hectares of land, reducing it to ashes.

As fires are being brought under control in Corsica, the worst-hit part of the country, police are trying to piece together how the blazes started. It is believed some were started deliberately. There has been widespread shock in France at the questioning of two voluntary firefighters, suspected of arson. Meanwhile there have been several arrests, among them two farmers who admitted lighting five fires. In Spain, too, inhabitants are reeling from devastating wildfires that have also made thousands of hectares of land go up in smoke. But there is hope now that the final blazes are being brought under control. For some 500 inhabitants of the town of Las Hurdes in the southwest, there has been a bitter sweet homecoming after fires forced them to flee for their lives.More about: Corsica, Fires, Spain

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