A forest fire in Portugal's Madeira island has left three people killed, the autonomous regional government revealed on Wednesday.

The fire that broke out on Monday afternoon in the island off northwest Africa has already forced around 1,000 people to evacuate from home and is spreading to the regional capital Funchal, according to media reports.

The regional government of Madeira held an emergency meeting Wednesday morning.

The fire has also left two people seriously injured, one person missing, and dozens of homes and buildings have been destroyed, including the Choupana Hills Hotel.

On Tuesday evening, the Portuguese government announced it would send a firefighting force to the island.

There were around 105 active fire points on Wednesday morning, according to the country's civil protection agency, and around 3,000 firefighters across the country are on the ground.

Source : XINHUA