More than 3,000 tourists have been evacuated from a British holiday hotspot in France after ‘catastrophic’ wildfires ravaged homes and holiday campsites.
The blazing wildfires have ripped through 500 hectares of land and seen thousands of terrified tourists flee for their lives from their holiday homes and campsites close to the Spanish border.
The flames have so far gutted scores of homes and destroyed a campsite in the popular holiday region of Pyrenees-Orientales, southern France, as it swept through villages close to the seaside resort of Argeles.
Video shows the flames getting perilously close to campsites, where children can be heard screaming in terror. Families quickly packed their belongings and fled in droves as black smoke filled the sky.
More than 3,000 tourists have now been evacuated from their holiday campsites across the region to temporary accommodation in town halls.
The local mayor described how she saw dozens of ‘families with flabbergasted children’ walk through the doors, some still in their swimsuits as they were unable to reach their campsite due to flames.
Harrowing photographs show the extent of the damage caused by the wildfires, with the charred remains of a blackened campsite seen in the commune of Saint-Andre. Cars were incinerated and homes gutted by the blaze.
