AVELAR, Portugal - Raging forest fires in central Portugal killed at least 62 people, many of them trapped in their cars as flames swept over a road, in what Prime Minister Antonio Costa called "the biggest tragedy of human life that we have known in years".

Nearly 60 other people were injured, including four firefighters and a seriously injured minor, public broadcaster RTP reported, citing Interior Ministry official Jorge Gomes.

The fatalities occurred in the Pedrogao Grande area, about 150 kilometers northeast of Lisbon, where about 700 firefighters have been trying to put out the fires since Saturday, Gomes said.