Portugal has declared three days of mourning for the 61 victims of one of the country's deadliest forest fires.
(CNN) - A raging wildfire ripped through central Portugal, killing 62 people and injured dozens more in what officials describe as the "greatest wildfire tragedy of recent years".
Locals in the town of Pedrogao Grande are struggling to understand how so many people died as they tried to flee the blaze in scenes reminiscent of Black Saturday with people incinerated in their cars.
Firefighters were continuing a grim search for bodies, with Mr Costa warning on Sunday that the death toll could still rise.
Pope Francis called for prayer on Sunday for the victims of wildfires which killed 62 people, including four children, in central Portugal this weekend.
The FCO's travel advice now recommends Britons "avoid travelling to the areas affected by forest fires until the authorities confirm that it is safe to do so".
Portugal's President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, offered a word of comfort to those still battling the fires and said that "all that could be done was done". Every few miles, I passed burned-out carcasses of cars on the side of the road. In a sign of help Portugal is receiving from its European neighbors, four Spanish fire engines were seen driving off from the headquarters.
"We express our condolences to those that have lost loved ones", he said.
The deaths, the most in memory caused by forest fires in Portugal, have shown shortcomings in communication systems to evacuate people from villages.
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More than 140 forest fires continued to burn across the country Sunday night, with around 2,000 firefighters battling to put them out.
Nearly 60 people, including several children, have also been injured as temperatures topped 40C yesterday and making it one of the nation's deadliest fire tragedies.
"This is a region that has had fires because of its forests, but we can not remember a tragedy of these proportions", Valdemar Alves, mayor of Pedrogao Grande, told the Associated Press.
Police say lightning striking a tree may have caused the fire.
The European Union said it would provide firefighting planes from France while Spain dispatched two water-bombing aircraft.
Sources from Portugal's Judicial Police said that the likely cause of the fire was a bolt of lightning that struck a dry tree in the heavily-forested area.
Scorching weather, with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), as well as strong winds and dry woodland after weeks with little rain are fueling the blazes.
"Overwhelmed by the tragedy of Pedrogao Grande".
The fire was still not contained on Sunday evening, with one of the four fronts remaining a threat. Portugal's Social Welfare Department is providing social support for the displaced through 400 social welfare officials, assisted by the Portuguese Red Cross (see further details below).
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