ROME: Around 1,000 tourists were evacuated on Wednesday after a wildfire broke out in the southern Italian region of Puglia, firefighters said.
Three Canadair water bombers and a helicopter were deployed to try to contain the blaze in a wooded coastal area in the Gargano sub-region.
“The fire is being tackled from the land and from the air,” a fire service spokesman told AFP, confirming that around 1,000 tourists had been evacuated.
According to reports, tourists from a complex near the bay of San Felice are among those moved.
Puglia attracts tourists from around the world with its clear waters, white sandy beaches and distinctive architecture.
The area hit by the fire is dominated by the Gargano National Park.
“The situation is critical,” the mayor of nearby Vieste, Giuseppe Nobiletti, had earlier told reporters, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
He expressed concern that the winds were pushing the flames toward the tourist complex.
After weeks of hot weather, fires have broken out almost daily across Italy, particularly in the south and on the islands.
Two firefighters died last week fighting a blaze near Matera in Basilicata, a region that neighbors Puglia.
1,000 tourists evacuated after fire in southern Italy
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1,000 tourists evacuated after fire in southern Italy
- Three Canadair water bombers and a helicopter were deployed to try to contain the blaze
- According to reports, tourists from a complex near the bay of San Felice are among those moved
Multiple victims reported in shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE, R.I.: Multiple people were shot Saturday in the area of Brown University, police said, as the Ivy League school issued an active shooter alert and urged students and staff to take shelter during the second day of final exams.
Police did not immediately release details about the number of victims, their conditions or the circumstances of the shooting.
University officials initially told students and staff that a suspect was in custody, before later saying that was not the case and that police were still searching for a suspect or suspects, according to alerts issued through Brown’s emergency notification system.
The reported shooting occurred near the Barus & Holley building, a seven-story complex that houses the university’s School of Engineering and physics department. According to the university’s website, the building includes more than 100 laboratories, dozens of classrooms and offices.
President Donald Trump said late in the afternoon that he has been briefed on the shooting.
“God bless the victims and the families of the victims!” he said on his social media site.
Students were urged to shelter in place as police responded to the scene, and people were told to avoid the area. A police officer warned media to take cover in vehicles because the area was still an active scene.
Officials cautioned that information remained preliminary as investigators worked to determine what had occurred.
Police were actively investigating and still gathering information from the scene, said Kristy DosReis, the chief public information officer for the city of Providence. The FBI said it was assisting in the response.
Brown is a private institution with roughly 7,300 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students. Saturday was the second day of final exams for the fall semester.
