A Spanish man in his 50s was filmed making a dramatic escape from a raging wildfire after his digger was engulfed in flames on Monday in the northwestern region of Castilla y León.
Ángel Martín Arjona was in the field that day digging a trench with his machine in order to try and stop the approaching wildfire from reaching the small town of Tábara. He is being treated for serious burns after he was forced to abandon his digger and run for his life.
Video of the incident shows Arjona and his vehicle disappearing from view as tall flames and billowing smoke encircle him, engulfing the machine.
Seconds later, Arjona emerges from the blaze on foot, patting out flames on his clothes as the fire licks his back. He stumbles and falls but quickly gets up and runs clear of the inferno.
With his clothes burned to rags, Arjona runs through the field to safety — pants still burning.
Arjona suffered serious burns during his escape, according to regional emergency services. He was treated at a local medical centre before being airlifted by helicopter to the Río Hortega University hospital in Valladolid, as reported by The Guardian.
Arjona is the owner of a construction warehouse, his friend Juan Lozano, a mechanic, told Reuters. Lozano praised his friend for his courage in protecting the town from the out-of-control wildfire.
“It could have burnt everything, absolutely everything. It did not because there are good professionals and people who have the balls to protect us,” Lozano said.
Heatwaves across southern Europe have sparked numerous blazes as wildfires and extreme heat become more commonplace in the dry, summer months, driven by human-caused climate change.
Temperatures across Spain are falling now as an eight-day heatwave finally comes to an end, though dozens of wildfires are still burning. Almost 75,000 acres of land across the country have been incinerated.