Panicked train passengers jump into wildfire

Multiple people were injured after smashing windows and attempting to flee for safety as their train was stopped by a raging forest fire in northeast Spain on Tuesday. Three passengers reportedly suffered serious burns, including a girl around the age of 10.

The incident unfolded during a trip from Sagunto to the city of Zaragoza, as the train slowed down, prompting fears among passengers that it could catch ablaze. The engine driver reporedly stopped the train as it was too dangerous to continue and was preparing to head back the opposite direction, at which point some of its 48 passengers attempted to flee.

“Once they saw that they were surrounded by fire they got back on the train and several of them had suffered burns,” said a spokesperson for the Spanish rail company Renfe, as cited by the Guardian.

Footage purporting to show the blaze from inside the train has circulated online.

Among the 20 or so injured were three with serious burns, including a girl around the age of 10 and a 58-year-old woman, emergency services told local media. 

Officials in Valencia – a region in eastern Spain that’s seen major wildfires in recent weeks – say that more than 1,000 people have been forced to evacuate due to fast-spreading flames fueled by high winds and a scorching heatwave. One fire in the city of Bejis has spread some 1,900 acres, while another still raging to the south in Vall d’Ebo has consumed more than 27,000 acres of forest.