Minister for internal administration, José Luís Carneiro, has announced that Portugal will be sending a team of 140 firefighters to help combat deadly forest fires sweeping through central Chile. Already 24 people are known to have died, with 1,182 so far registered as injured. Portugal’s ‘firefighting relationship with Chile’ goes back a long way. The two countries have helped each other in the past, with Chilean sappers actually dying here, fighting fires in central Portugal in 2006 – thus Portugal has traditionally felt a ‘debt of gratitude’. Said Mr Carneiro today: “We have already communicated to the European Civil Protection Mechanism our availability of resources”. 140 people have been identified for the mission “from various forces and services, namely the Special Civil Protection Force of the National Republican Guard, the Special Protection and Rescue Unit, Forest Guards of the National Institute of Medical Emergency and the Portuguese Fire Brigade.”