The three victims died in their homes close to Funchal’s historic centre while local media reported that two others were seriously injured by the raging inferno that has gripped Madeira, a popular tourist destination in the eastern Atlantic.
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There is also one other person missing.
He said more than 300 people needed medical treatment for smoke inhalation and minor burns and 80 were still in hospital, two of them in a serious condition.
The Madeira fire forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 residents and tourists in the islands off northwestern Africa.
City mayor Paulo Cafofo said it was “impossible” to calculate how many buildings were caught in the blaze, but told Publico that a five-star hotel and spa had been completely consumed.
A wildfire at Curral dos Romeiros, Funchal on Madeira.
Frantic locals used garden hosepipes and buckets of water to keep the flames at bay as wind blew embers across roads.
Firefighter department of the fire service reports it become nearly impossible to quench the fire quickly and especially on time because of the steep hills and dense woodland of Madeira terrain.
A man is being held on suspicion of lighting three fires in the Sao Roque neighborhood of northern Funchal, he said, while three others have been arrested for trying to light additional fires while the main blazes were being fought.
Wildfires have also affected the Portuguese mainland in recent days as temperatures climb above 35C. By Tuesday evening, fire officials said seven blazes in the countryside were out of control.
The National Civil Protection Service said 3,300 firefighters supported by 23 water-dumping aircraft were in action on the mainland.
Forest fires have been ravaging parts of Portugal since last Saturday, when strong winds and high temperatures swept across the country, and have stretched resources to the limit.
Portuguese officials say fires are often started deliberately and spread quickly because forests are not cleared of dead wood.
Summer forest fires are common in Portugal, which in 2003 suffered its deadliest blazes, killing 19 people and destroying around 10 percent of the country’s forests. In Viseu, north of Lisbon, another wildfire closed a major highway, while the flames cut the power lines in nearby Agueda.
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In Lisbon, Tuesday was hazy with a smell of smoke caused by wildfires in the surrounding region.
