Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a message in Portuguese, published on Twitter, that his thoughts were with the victims and praised firefighters for their bravery.

The death toll released by Jorge Gomes, the secretary of state for internal affairs, has gradually climbed from the 19 initially announced late on Saturday, June, 17. Gomes said most of the victims were caught in their vehicles on the road. At the moment there are at least 43 killed, 59 injured in #Portugal forest fires, the number of missing is unknown.

“All will be done to assist the authorities and people of Portugal at this time of need,” the European Commission’s aid chief, Christos Stylianides, said in a statement.