Firefighters under arrest for arson

TWO volunteer firemen are under arrest in Corsica – on suspicion of arson.

The men are suspected of being responsible for three fires in southern Corsica in a week in mid-July. One, aged 22, has already admitted guilt.

The fires were near Sari d’Orcino, where the two men live.

In total eight people have been arrested in connection with forest fires in Corsica in recent days. Two have so far been sentenced – one, a 21-year-old farmer, was sentenced to two years prison and an accomplice aged 24, who drove him to the spots where he lit fires, got eight months. They also had to pay compensation.

Firefighters are again battling forest fires in the region but they hope to put them out today. More than 6,000 hectares have been burned since last Thursday.