NEWS
Turkey in the grip of forest fires
02.08.21, Monday
The fires caused the death of 4 people, ravaged dozens of houses, fields and stables of several villages by the fires. Some 200 people, mostly residents affected by smoke and three suffering from burns, were hospitalized.
Forest fires reached populated areas near several tourist sites in southern Turkey, killing four people and causing the evacuation of dozens of villages. Separate outbreaks of fire in the forests of Manavgat, Alanya, Adana, Mersin, Bodrum and Marmaris, near tourist sites in southern Turkey, quickly reached populated areas due to strong winds.
The majority of the forest fires that ravaged the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, which killed 4 people, injured 200 and caused the evacuation of dozens of villages, have been brought under control, Turkish authorities announced on Friday. "57 of the 71 fires that broke out across the country have been brought under control," said Agriculture Minister Bekir Pakdemirli.
Suspicions of criminal origin
The fires are raging with temperatures approaching 40 degrees and wind gusts of 50 kilometers per hour. Struck for two days by several fires for which the authorities suspect a criminal origin, report the Minister of Agriculture and the Agency for Disaster Management and Emergency Situations, a total of 4,000 firefighters are at work with 35 aircraft and 457 vehicles. The director of communication of the Turkish Presidency, Fahrettin Altun, said that investigations have been opened to determine the cause of the fires, whose coincidence questions.