France battles huge wildfire for second day in a row

French firefighters battled for a second day on Thursday to contain its biggest wildfire in nearly eight decades, which has burnt over 16,000 hectares and killed one person.

Reuters TV images showed plumes of smoke rising over the forest area in the region of Aude in southern France.

"As of now, the fire has not been brought under control," Christophe Magny, one of the officials leading the firefighting operation, told BFM TV.

The blaze near the border with Spain towards the Mediterranean Sea began earlier this week and has already swept through an area bigger than Paris. Officials have said it is France's biggest wildfire since 1949.

Scientists say the Mediterranean region's hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires.