Wildfires raged near Turkey’s holiday beach destinations of Antalya and Mugla and in the surrounding countryside for a fifth day as the discovery of more bodies raised the death toll to eight while villagers lost their homes and animals.
Residents and tourists on Sunday fled the danger in small boats while the coast guard and two navy ships waited out at sea in case a bigger evacuation was needed. Fires also enveloped Mugla province’s Mazikoy, and villagers who evacuated were devastated.
Wildfires raged near Turkey’s holiday beach destination
s of Antalya and Mugla and in the surrounding countryside for a fifth day as the discovery of more bodies raised the death toll to eight while villagers lost their homes and animals.
Residents and tourists on Sunday fled the danger in small boats while the coast guard and two navy ships waited out at sea in case a bigger evacuation was needed.
Fires also enveloped Mugla province’s Mazikoy, and villagers who evacuated were devastated.
Authorities warned tourists and residents to keep evacuating Turunc, a town in the seaside resort of Marmaris in Mugla province. Fires enveloped the area and strong winds made firefighting efforts more difficult. A helicopter attempted to extinguish the blazes, which were unreachable by land.
Aerial firefighting was not possible Sunday night and the fires raged, burning hectares (acres) of forests. Forestry official Mustafa Ozkaya said units continued to fight fires strategically, digging ditches and taking other measures. He said eight planes and 50 helicopters would fly in Mugla on Monday.
The European Commission announced it helped mobilized one firefighting Canadair plane from Croatia and two from Spain to aid Turkey. Planes from Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran have been helping.
Watching from out in the Mediterranean Sea, the area looked a bright orange.
As residents of villages around Marmaris pleaded for more help on social media, people boarded small boats carrying suitcases. Others waited anxiously to see if the fire would come down to the shore.
High temperatures and strong winds were making matters worse. Antalya registered 42 degrees Celsius (over 107 degrees Fahrenheit), about 5 to 6 degrees C higher than seasonal averages.
Earlier Sunday, police water cannons, usually used to control riots, helped helicopters and fire trucks in Mugla’s popular district of Bodrum to fight fires. Turkish television showed fires had reignited after being extinguished earlier, with flame and smoke approaching a village.
Social media videos showed tourists in Bodrum scampering down streets rolling their luggage to escape the nearby flames.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at least 27 people affected by the fires were still receiving treatment in hospitals while hundreds of others had been released.
The minister of forestry and agriculture, Bekir Pakdemirli, said 117 wildfires were “under control” across Turkey while eight continued. His tweets showed that since Wednesday, wildfires had ignited in 32 provinces.
While Turkish authorities say they are investigating whether the fires may have started as “sabotage” by outlawed Kurdish militants, experts mostly point to climate change along with accidents caused by people. Erdogan said one of the fires was started by children.
