France: 2,700 people evacuated due to a massive fire that destroyed more than 1,000 hectares in Marseille

At least 2,700 people were evacuated Tuesday night near the city of Marseille on the Mediterranean coast in southeastern France, due to a violent fire that "has been contained" after destroying an area of ​​more than a thousand hectares.

"The fire has been contained," a local fire department official said on Wednesday morning. "No one was seriously injured and the material damage still needs to be assessed," he added.

About 1,800 firefighters were mobilized to put out the fire, which broke out on Tuesday afternoon in the town of Martigues, west of Marseille.

Due to strong winds, the fire spread and threatened many coastal towns. The firefighters explained that "the flames spread in the neighborhoods surrounding the city between the residences and the camps."

Eight "protective camping areas" were evacuated in the towns of Martig and Suse-les-Bains, and many vacationers were evacuated by sea before local authorities took care of them and took them especially to shelters, according to fire brigades.

The elderly center was also evacuated.

On Wednesday, firefighters said that another fire broke out on Wednesday in the same sector, near an industrial zone, sweeping 130 hectares of land and destroying or damaging one home and several companies.