More than 250,000 have fled wildfires in France and Spain: authorities

Out-of-control wildfires raging in France and Spain have forced the evacuation of more than 250,000 people in total, authorities in both countries said on Saturday.

The French government said that 197,000 people were evacuated because of wildfires near Bordeaux, in southwest France.

The Spanish interior ministry said a total of 70,000 people were evacuated from villages west of Madrid.

Both countries are facing unprecedented blazes that are spreading unchecked despite the efforts of many hundreds of firefighters backed by water-dropping aircraft.