Two firefighters killed fighting inferno at Bordeaux airport

Flights were grounded at Bordeaux Airport after a huge fire nearby killed two firefighters.

The fire erupted from a nearby building on Avenue Roland Garros, close to the airport’s car park, at around 2.30pm on Tuesday.

Huge plumes of smoke spread across the sky as one hectare of land went up in flames

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed that two firefighters had died while attempting to extinguish the blaze.

 A number of flights scheduled to arrive at Bordeaux–Mérignac airport have been delayed while others were stopped from taking off.

Some 100 firefighters, backed by specialist aircraft, are reported to be still fighting the blaze.

A wildfire swept through towns on France’s Mediterranean coast near Frejus on Sunday, threatening homes and forcing the evacuation of several hamlets as strong winds and drought conditions fueled its rapid spread, local authorities said.

‘The fire spread extremely quickly in the context of this heatwave and extreme drought,’ local prefect Simon Babre told BFM TV.

The blaze had scorched about 180 hectares (445 acres) by Sunday evening, the prefect’s office said.

Television images showed large flames advancing behind hillside villas typical of the French Riviera, while thick black smoke billowed above pine and cypress trees.

Train services between the Mediterranean port of Toulon and Les Arcs were suspended because of the fire.

The World Meteorological Organization last month warned ‌that ⁠the record temperatures that baked Western Europe for over a week in late June would worsen the risk of wildfires, given the outlook for sustained high temperatures, very low humidity and dry vegetation.