AP - A spokesman for Portugal's Civil Protection Agency says he cannot confirm that a Canadair water-dropping aircraft has crashed while fighting deadly wildfires in the central part of the country. [...] 30 water-dropping aircraft were engaged in battling the blazes, some operating under bilateral agreements with the Portuguese government and others as part of a European Union cooperation agreement. A reporter for a Portuguese public broadcaster says he heard a loud explosion in hills about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the region where firefighters are battling a fatal wildfire and a water-dropping airplane reportedly crashed. Antena 1 public radio reporter Pedro Sa Guerra says there was thick smoke over the area on Tuesday caused by the devastating wildfire in Pedrogao Grande, where 64 people died on Saturday when a blaze swept across the region. Civil Protection Agency spokesman Fausto Coutinho says authorities had received reports of a plane crash near where wildfires are raging and
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