At least 14 people have died as a result of large-scale forest fires in Turkey: this happened against the background of a record heat – the temperature reached 50.5 degrees Celsius. About this informs The Independent.
More than 1,500 people were forced to flee their homes and one firefighter died while fighting nighttime forest fires near the northwestern city of Bursa. The fire covered 3,000 hectares around the city. More than 1,100 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the fire. The highway connecting Bursa with the capital, Ankara, was closed due to fires.
Bursa Mayor Mustafa Bozbey reported that one of the firefighters died of a heart attack while on duty. The governor’s administration said on Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages in the northeast of the region.
About 14 people have been killed in fires in recent weeks, including 10 volunteer rescuers and foresters who died Wednesday while fighting a fire in the western Turkish city of Eskişehir. On Friday, the country’s government declared the western provinces of Izmir and Bilecik as disaster zones.
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumakli, said that 76 separate fires were being extinguished in Turkey on Saturday, 28 of which occurred in forests and 48 in rural areas. The most difficult situation has developed in the north-west of the country, in particular in the area of the city of Karabyuk, where the fire has not subsided since Tuesday. Yumakli also confirmed that on Friday in the city of Sirnak, the highest temperature in the history of observations was recorded – 50.5°C.
The General Directorate of Meteorology of Turkey predicts a further rise in temperatures — it may rise by another 10 degrees from Saturday. In 132 settlements of the country, the highest temperature indicators for July were recorded. Minister of Justice Yilmaz Tunc said that since June 26, the prosecutor’s office is investigating suspicions of deliberate arson in 33 provinces. Criminal proceedings were initiated against 97 people.
