Some parts of Western Europe were starting to cool off as the extreme heat that has gripped the continent moved east.

Two people were found dead by firefighters tackling a blaze in Spain's Catalonia region on Tuesday, as Europe endures scorching temperatures during the ongoing heatwave. In a statement, Catalan authorities said the two bodies were found after firefighters extinguished a fire in the Torrefeta area, near the town of Coscó.

Four people died in Spain, two in France and two in Italy as an early summer heatwave continued to grip much of Europe on Wednesday, triggering health alerts and forest fires and forcing the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant.

Esther González scored twice and world champion Spain delivered a statement of intent by routing Portugal 5-0 in their Women’s European Championship opener on Thursday. The 32-year-old González became the oldest player to score for Spain,

Portugal and Spain players observed a period of silence before their Women's European Championship opening game Thursday in memory of Portugal and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota.