Lisbon [Portugal], August 30 (ANI): A 14-year-old boy admitted to deliberately starting multiple wildfires in Portugal by riding his scooter to forested areas and using matches to ignite blazes, EuroNews reported.
Police believe he may have been responsible for fires in Seidões, Ardegão, and Arnozela. “The minor may have acted out of anger and frustration, given his poor school performance and the obvious precariousness of his social relationships,” Portugal’s national criminal police, the Policia Judiciaria, said in a statement. Authorities added they had not ruled out the possibility that he acted as part of a group.
The investigation was launched after wildfires repeatedly broke out in the same areas. “During the summer period, these parishes were systematically ravaged by forest fires, sometimes on a daily basis, causing concern among the local population and consuming several hectares of forest,” police said, as quoted by EuroNews.
The Braga Judicial Police, which led the probe, has handed the case to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will transfer it to the Family and Children’s Court. By August 20, police had already arrested 52 people on suspicion of arson, with most arrests taking place in August, according to data compiled by the Lusa news agency.
Emergency services said that on Friday morning, 97 fires were still burning across the country, though most were under control or in the process of being extinguished. The fire in the municipality of Vinhais remains the most concerning, with more than 400 firefighters, 140 vehicles, and six planes deployed to combat the blaze.
The fire, which began Tuesday morning, is active on three fronts, one of which is difficult to access. However, on the other two fronts, “most of its perimeter is under control,” a regional commander of the civil protection agency told local media, as quoted by EuroNews. (ANI)
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