Firefighters and police injured tackling French wildfires
Firefighters and police have been injured as they battled wildfires in the French Riviera and on the island of Corsica.
Eight firefighters and some 15 police officers were hurt in the fires which broke out on Monday and consumed nearly 9,880 acres of vegetation, according to French authorities.
The French civil security authority has asked the European Union for help and to provide two Canadair planes to contain and extinguish the wildfire.
Hundreds of firefighters are currently involved in tackling the blazes.
There have been no reports of injuries among residents or tourists.
Flames burned almost 2,000 acres around the Var area of Provence, with two villas destroyed seven miles west of Saint-Tropez. A huge fire in the neighbouring Luberon region is now under control.
The Var prefecture said about 100 people had been evacuated in Ramatuelle.
The largest blaze was in northern Corsica, with nearly 5,000 acres burned.
French interior minister Gerard Collomb tweeted that he would travel to Corsica on Tuesday evening to meet emergency services.
