Almost 24 hours after the deaths on Saturday night, fires were still churning across the forested hillsides of central Portugal. Police and firefighters were searching charred areas of the forest and isolated homes, looking for more bodies.

"It is a time of pain but also ... a time to carry on the fight" against the flames, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told the nation in a televised address on Sunday evening.

There are fears for two firefighters who are missing while four of their colleagues are described as being in a serious condition in hospital.