Plane drops thousands of gallons of water on major wildfire in southern France

A water-dropping plane battles a raging wildfire in France's southern Gard region as more than 620 hectares (1,500 acres) burn.

Footage captures the firefighting aircraft dropping thousands of gallons of water onto the ground.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze that forced the evacuation of residents in the villages of Bordezac and Besseges.

"A total of 18 firefighters have been injured, one of whom was briefly hospitalised,” the Gard firefighting department said.

The fire risk remains high over the coming days due to "very unfavourable weather conditions."

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