TEJEDA, Spain, July 25 (Reuters) - A rapidly-spreading wildfire that broke out at the centre of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria on Tuesday forced the authorities to remove several hundred villagers from their homes, shut three roads and deploy helicopters to contain the blaze.
However, Spanish airports operator AENA told Reuters, however, the Gran Canaria airport on the eastern coast was operating normally.
Antonio Morales, head of the Island Council of Gran Canaria, told reporters about 100 firefighters and nine aircraft were working to put out the blaze that has so far burned through 200 hectares of forest but no buildings have been harmed.
"They told me they were already there trying to put the fire out but two hours later it broke out of control," he said.
Reporting by Borja Suarez in Gran Canaria island, with additional reporting of Corina Pons in Tenerife island.
Persons:
Federico Grillo, Antonio Morales, Cuevas Blancas, Jose Ramon Henriquez, Borja Suarez, Corina Pons, Andrei Khalip, Aurora Ellis
Organizations:
Gran Canaria, Reuters, AENA, Radio Canarias, Island, Thomson
Locations:
Spain, Spanish, Gran, Gran Canaria, Tenerife