Portugal forest fire: 12 survive by hiding in a water tank

Twelve people survived one of Portugal's deadliest fires by seeking refuge in a water tank after access to their village was cut off by the blaze.

The residents, including a disabled 95-year-old woman, spent more than six hours in the tank as the fire prevented them from being rescued.
"If it wasn't for this, we would all have died," one of the survivors said.
The fires, which police say may have been started by lightning, left 62 dead, many of them dying in their cars.
Residents in some areas of central Portugal are still being evacuated as more than 1,000 firefighters tackle the blaze, which continues to rage on several fronts despite light rains.

• 'I could have died - I should have died'
• In pictures: Portugal forest fire

Maria do Céu Silva was hailed as a hero after using her house's water tank to rescue the residents of Nodeirinho, next to the IC8 motorway, which was badly hit by the fire.
The idea, Ms Silva said, came while she tried to save her disabled mother.
"My husband told me to put her in the van but she couldn't get in by herself so she told me: 'Let me die on the floor'," she told Correio da Manhã newspaper.
"With the help of my son we managed to take her here." Her 81-year-old father also survived by hiding in the tank.
The winds were so strong, she said, that roofs of the houses were blown out. "It was like a horror movie."
We found ourselves stranded in a village called Mó Grande, just off of the IC8 motorway; ourselves and others were directed there by an officer from the IC8.
As we drove up the mountain road you could see the flames jumping across from one side of the valley to the other. The accompanying wind threw branches at the car but you couldn't stop, you could feel the heat.
Eventually we reached the small village at a crossroads surrounded by fire. Locals and ourselves were crying, overwhelmed by the heat and speed of the fire. It was dark, so dark, among the flames.
The devastation was indescribable. People, bewildered, remains of homes burning uncontrollably, concrete posts exploding over roads.
Credit: BBC