Watch: ‘We Couldn’t Breathe’ – Maltese Family’s Sicily Holiday Turns Into A Nightmare As Wildfires Reach Residence
A Maltese family has recounted the horrifying moment they had to flee from their apartment in Cinisi, Sicily, after the wildfires reached the windows of the residence they were staying at.
Speaking exclusively to Lovin Malta, the father of two described the moment they were awoken in the middle of the night by the flames reaching the apartment as his wife screamed in fear.
“We slept at around 1am Tuesday morning. Wildfires were already spreading since morning the day before but no one seemed to notice,” he told Lovin Malta.
“We were in an apartment in a villa at Cinisi, right across Palermo Airport. My wife and daughter were there since Monday 17th as my daughter is playing the Palermo Tennis Open. So my son and I joined them last Friday.”
“At 3am, my wife woke up screaming that the fire reached our residence. It was right outside the party wall.”
View this post on Instagram
“We couldn’t breathe, the windows glass was getting hot. We grabbed our belongings or what we could in that rush and left the property. The owner was there throwing water at his plants. We just left as I was scared for my kids.”
“The scene was terrifying. I can still feel the heat of the flames on me. Thank God we were not yet trapped and managed to drive out of the area. A few minutes more and we would have been trapped. Firefighters came into action quite late.”
“Many people lost their homes,” he said, detailing how close they were to the flames. “An old couple living close to where we were staying died in their sleep, burnt alive.”
As soon as they left the apartment, the autostrada towards Palermo was closed as it was burning, but they followed the signs towards a secondary road.
“Until we reached a safe passage to the autostrada, all round us was on fire. In the morning the air in Palermo was unbreathable and even my eyes were hurting.”
Over the last days, Sicily has been struck by a nightmarish situation, as wildfires spread across the island. Many people have tragically lost their lives, with thousands of locals and tourist alike being evacuated as mass closures affected everything from shops to airports.
This all came as a result of heatwave Cerberus, which badly hit the Mediterranean area, including Italy, Tunis, Greece, Spain, Portugal… and Malta, which registered its hottest July day in nearly 40 years.
What do you make of this shocking story?
READ NEXT: Opposition Files No-Confidence Motion in Energy Minister Following Ongoing Power Crisis
