Palermo airport was closed on Tuesday
morning after wildfires in the hills around the Sicilian city
reached the airport perimeter.
Teams of firefighters were working to put out the blaze, and the
airport was scheduled to reopen at 11 am local time.
As of 7.30 am eight flights had been cancelled.
The airport was also isolated by land for several hours due to a
combination of road closures and the suspension of railway
services to Palermo.
The fires are affecting in particular the Capo Gallo mountain,
the promontory overlooking the seaside resort of Mondello, and
the Bellolampo hill, where on Monday night part of the local
landfill was reported to be on fire and emitting poisonous
fumes.
So far, 120 families were said to have been evacuated from their
homes and power cuts were reported in many parts of the city.
Also on Tuesday, an 88-year-old woman was reported to have died
in the San Martino delle Scale area after the emergency services
failed to get to her in time due to the fires.
"We have never seen anything like it in San Martino delle
Scale," said a local resident.
"We were surrounded by fire from Bellolampo and Palermo. We
couldn't go anywhere. We spent the night in the square. They
were terrible hours."
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