Watch: Video shows mother, daughter surrounded by flames in Italian wildfire
Video from Italy shows the scary moments when a mother and daughter were surrounded by smoke and flames while driving in Sicily, Italy.
SICILY, Italy – A terrifying video from Sicily, Italy, shows the nail-biting moments a mother and daughter were surrounded by smoke and flames from a raging wildfire while driving Monday.
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This image shows flames surrounding a mother and daughter who were driving in their car in Sicily, Italy, while escaping a wildfire. (Centamore Natalia Mariagrazia via Storyful / FOX Weather)
The video, which was recorded by Centamore Natalia Mariagrazia, showed how perilous the conditions were during their drive from Syracuse to their home in Carlentini on the island’s southeastern coast.
In a translated message, Mariagrazia told Storyful that while they did see smoke off in the distance while they were driving, they didn’t think the situation was dangerous enough to prevent them from continuing their journey.
HOW THE LAY OF THE LAND AFFECTS WILDFIRE BEHAVIOR
Fire crews with the Vigili del Fuoco work to contain fires in Calabria, Italy. (Image credit: Vigili de Fuoco)
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Fire crews with the Vigili del Fuoco work to contain fires in Calabria, Italy. (Image credit: Vigili de Fuoco)
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This photograph taken on July 26, 2023, shows an ongoing fire near Vati, on the Greek Aegean island of Rhodes. Wildfires have been raging in Greece amid scorching temperatures, forcing mass evacuations in several tourist spots including on the islands of Rhodes and Corfu.
(Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP)
Civilians use a hose to attempt to stop a fire from approaching houses between the villages of Kiotari and Gennadi, on the Greek island of Rhodes on July 24, 2023. Firefighters tackled blazes that erupted in peak tourism season, sparking the country's largest-ever wildfire evacuation -- and leaving flights and holidays cancelled. Tens of thousands of people have already fled blazes on the island of Rhodes, with many frightened tourists scrambling to get home on evacuation flights.
(SPYROS BAKALIS/AFP)
RHODES ISLAND, GREECE - JULY 24: Teams try to extinguish wildfires on Rhodes island, Greece on July 24, 2023. Some 19,000 people have been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes as wildfires continued burning for a sixth day, authorities said on Sunday. As many as 266 firefighters and 49 fire engines were on the ground battling the blazes, assisted by five helicopters and 10 airplanes.
(Damianidis Eleftherios/Anadolu Agency)
TOPSHOT - People watch the fires near the village of Malona in the Greek island of Rhodes on July 23, 2023. Tens of thousands of people fled wildfires on the Greek island of Rhodes on July 23, 2023, as terrified tourists scrambled to get home. Firefighters tackled blazes that erupted in peak tourism season, sparking the country's largest-ever wildfire evacuation -- and leaving flights and holidays cancelled.
(SPYROS BAKALIS/AFP)
RHODES ISLAND, GREECE - JULY 22: Tourists are evacuated as huge wildfire rages across Greece's Rhodes island on July 22, 2023. Thousands of tourists were evacuated from hotels on the southeastern coast of Rhodes island as a huge wildfire that had been burning on the island since Tuesday morning continued to spread quickly. Firefighters, as well as fire extinguisher aircraft, are battling the blazes against strong winds.
(Lefty Damian/Anadolu Agency)
This photograph taken on July 24, 2023, shows burnt vehicles and smoke in the background during a fire between the villages of Kiotari and Genadi, on the Greek island of Rhodes. Firefighters tackled blazes that erupted in peak tourism season, sparking the country's largest-ever wildfire evacuation -- and leaving flights and holidays cancelled. Tens of thousands of people have already fled blazes on the island of Rhodes, with many frightened tourists scrambling to get home on evacuation flights.
(SPYROS BAKALIS/AFP)
24 July 2023, Greece, Kiotari: Burned cars in the village of Kiotari. Forest fires rage in Rhodes and other parts of Greece
(Socrates Baltagiannis/picture alliance)
24 July 2023, Greece, Gennadi: Romanian firefighters try to extinguish a fire that broke out in a house near the village of Gennadi. Forest fires rage in Rhodes and other parts of Greece.
(Socrates Baltagiannis/picture alliance)
24 July 2023, Greece, Gennadi: Romanian firefighters try to extinguish a fire that broke out in a house near the village of Gennadi. Forest fires rage in Rhodes and other parts of Greece.
(Socrates Baltagiannis/picture alliance)
24 July 2023, Greece, Gennadi: A Romanian firefighter sprays water on a cat as a fire broke out near the village of Gennadi. Forest fires rage in Rhodes and other parts of Greece.
(Socrates Baltagiannis/picture alliance)
Burning trees in Nea Zoi in Nea Peramos, a place near Megara, Greece on July 19, 2023. After three days, firefighters are still fighting the flames in Nea Zoi.
(Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto)
A man runs for protection during a wildfire at Agios Sotiras, a village 35 km West of Athens, on July 20, 2023. Forest fires are burning for the 4th consecutive day in Western Attica (Photo by Dimitris Kapantais / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by DIMITRIS KAPANTAIS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
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RHODES ISLAND, GREECE - JULY 22: Firefighter teams intervene a wildfire across Greece's Rhodes island on July 22, 2023. Thousands of tourists were evacuated from hotels on the southeastern coast of Rhodes island as a huge wildfire that had been burning on the island since Tuesday morning continued to spread quickly. Firefighters, as well as fire extinguisher aircraft, are battling the blazes against strong winds. (Photo by Lefty Damian/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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RHODES ISLAND, GREECE - JULY 22: A firefighter helicopter drops water as teams conduct extinguishing works by land and air to control wildfires across Greece's Rhodes island on July 22, 2023. Thousands of tourists were evacuated from hotels on the southeastern coast of Rhodes island as a huge wildfire that had been burning on the island since Tuesday morning continued to spread quickly. Firefighters, as well as fire extinguisher aircraft, are battling the blazes against strong winds. (Photo by Lefty Damian/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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RHODES ISLAND, GREECE - JULY 22: A firefighter helicopter drops water as teams conduct extinguishing works by land and air to control wildfires across Greece's Rhodes island on July 22, 2023. Thousands of tourists were evacuated from hotels on the southeastern coast of Rhodes island as a huge wildfire that had been burning on the island since Tuesday morning continued to spread quickly. Firefighters, as well as fire extinguisher aircraft, are battling the blazes against strong winds. (Photo by Lefty Damian/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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22 July 2023, Greece, Rhodos: Forest fires rage on the vacation island of Rhodes (photo taken from an airplane). According to meteorologists, the heat wave will continue next week with minor fluctuations. On Wednesday, a new peak is expected with temperatures around 46 degrees in southern Greece. Photo: Christophe Gateau/dpa (Photo by Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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ATHENS, GREECE - JULY 20: Firefighter teams intervene a wildfire at the village of Palaiochori near Athens, Greece on July 20, 2023. (Photo by Costas Baltas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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"Going further on, we noticed that the situation was only going to get worse," she told Storyful. "But we could not stop anymore."
She said that her mother bravely handled the situation while driving through the thick smoke and flames, but when they emerged from the inferno, she immediately began to cry as "the terror was thankfully over."
Local officials said three people were killed by the wildfires. Local news reports indicated that parts of the road were shut down because of the fire but have since been reopened.
Wildfires rage across Europe
Video captures moment Greek firefighting airplane crashes while responding to wildfire
A terrifying video captured the moment when a Greek firefighting airplane that was responding to a wildfire in Greece crashed and burst into flames on Tuesday, July 25, 2023.
Several wildfires have been reported across Europe, including in Spain, Italy and Greece. Several people have been killed.
Greek officials placed the entire island of Rhodes under a state of emergency because of fires, and two pilots were killed earlier this week when their firefighting airplane crashed into a hillside while working to extinguish flames. Thousands of residents and tourists were told to flee, and an investigation is underway to determine what caused fires across the country.
Officials with Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s National Fire and Rescue Service, said firefighters have responded to more than 1,600 fires in three days between fires burning in Sicily, Calabria and Puglia. More than 5,400 firefighters are responding to blazes in southern Italy during temperatures in the triple digits.