**Thousands of firefighters are battling to bring under control summer wildfires that are spreading across parts of southern Europe.**At least seven people have died in the blazes that have struck Spain, France, Greece and the Italian island of Sardinia in the past few days.
Prisoners in Sardinia were reportedly moved to a beach when their penitentiary was threatened by fire.
Strong winds have fanned the flames during the hot dry weather.
Spain has suffered the heaviest death toll, losing five firefighters in the last four days.
Four were killed in Catalonia on Tuesday, and the driver of a firefighters’ truck lost his life in Teruel province on Thursday.
Parts of the Mojacar region in south-east Spain were being evacuated on Friday as fires continued to rage. Community halls were being used as makeshift shelters for residents at risk.
A series of bush fires across Sardinia claimed two lives there, including that of a shepherd who was trying to rescue his flock.
Helicopters and civil protection boats were used to rescue more than 120 people trapped on a beach at Capo Pecora in the south-west of the island.
The penitentiary complex of Is Arenas had to be evacuated, and the inmates temporarily transferred to the beach, Ansa news agency reports.
French inquiry
In Greece, firefighters continue to tackle blazes that have hit the southern Peloponnese region and the island of Evia.
Strong winds coupled with high temperatures had caused the fire to spread rapidly, fire officials in Evia said.
Five French firemen were injured battling flames from three fires on the island of Corsica, the AFP news agency reports.
The fires, which have destroyed some 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of forest and bush, are believed to have been started deliberately, the regional government said.
Meanwhile, an inquiry is under way in France after a military exercise sparked a major wildfire on the outskirts of Marseille.
The fire, which threatened homes and destroyed 1,300 hectares (3,211 acres) of brush, provoked an angry reaction from both officials and residents.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon called it a “professional mistake” and local prefect Michel Sappin accused the military of “imbecilic” actions.
The officer in charge when soldiers fired tracer bullets during a training exercise has been suspended.