Seventeen fires spread across Galicia, some closing in on urban areas including parts of Vigo, the region’s biggest city

Six people have died in Portugal and Spain as forest fires swept across the northwest of the Iberian peninsula spurred on by heavy onshore winds whipped up by Hurricane Ophelia.

The Portuguese civil protection agency said it had seen its “the worst day since the beginning of the year” as 440 fires tore through bone-dry forests killing three, injuring 25 and closing key motorways including one linking Lisbon and Porto.

Across the border in the Spanish region of Galicia, to the north of Portugal, three people were reported dead as 17 fires spread across the area, some closing in on urban areas including parts of Vigo, Galicia’s biggest city.

The flames have been fanned by 55mph winds on the tail of Hurricane Ophelia, the most