At least eight people have been confirmed dead in forest fires on the Turkish sunny coast, seven of them in the popular holiday region of Antalya. Pictures from the area show people fleeing in small private boats.
At the same time, the Armed Forces has sent two naval vessels to the area, while the Coast Guard is also on standby if there is a need for a major evacuation.
Authorities have asked tourists and locals to evacuate from Turnuc, a small town on the Marmaris coast, another favorite holiday destination.
Flames all the way down to the shore
The violent fires were still raging on Sunday night, while strong winds made the extinguishing work difficult.
Residents of surrounding villages in Mugla province have turned to social media to ask for more help. On Sunday, both tourists and locals took their suitcases on board boats that came to evacuate them.
Others waited nervously to see if the flames would spread all the way down to the beach. In several places, the flames did just that.
Deceased in burnt out house
In Turkey, two more deaths were reported on Sunday in connection with the forest fires in Antalya on the Mediterranean. A Turkish-German couple was found in their burnt-out home in Manavgat in Antalya, according to the news agency DHA.
Thus, the fires have so far claimed eight lives, the vast majority of them in Antalya, which together with the Mugla province on the Aegean Sea has been hardest hit.
Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca states that at least 27 people are being treated in hospital for injuries after the fires, while several hundred have been discharged.
Hotels evacuated in Bodrum
On Saturday night, several villages in Bodrum by the Aegean Sea were evacuated, according to mayor Ahmet Aras. Panicked tourists were evacuated from hotels here as the flames crept down the hills, among them 100 Russians.
Water cannons, which are otherwise used during riots, were deployed in the fire brigade in Bodrum, along with helicopters and fire trucks. Civilians are also trying to help, but several homes have been extinguished by the flames.
People are being evacuated from the village of Sirtkoy in Antalya province as a result of the forest fires, Turkish media report. Photo: AP / NTB Photo: AP
—-
Fire in 33 provinces
Turkey’s Minister of Forestry and Agriculture Bekir Pakdemirli tweets that 111 forest fires are under control. His overview shows that forest fires have broken out in 33 provinces since Wednesday.
Forest fires are common in these parts of Turkey during the dry summer months, but this year’s fires are the most extensive in many years. After record high temperatures in July, when it was measured 49.1 degrees in Cizre in southeastern Turkey, it has been announced that the heat wave will continue. In Antalya, it has been measured 42 degrees, 5-6 degrees higher than the average for the season, and high temperatures have also been announced on Monday.
According to EU figures, Turkey has been hit by 133 forest fires in 2021, compared to an average of 43 at this time of year between 2008 and 2020.
Villages evacuated in Greece
Also in Greece, fire crews are fighting the flames after a large forest fire broke out on Saturday near Patras west of the country.
Five villages have been evacuated, and eight people have been admitted to hospitals with fire and smoke damage in the region, writes the news agency AFP. Around 20 homes have been burned down, according to preliminary figures from the fire service.
Almost 300 firefighters, two firefighters and five helicopters have been deployed to fight forest fires in Greece. The country is in a new heat wave with temperatures between 42 and 44 degrees, according to meteorologists.
– Enormous disaster
Several homes and farms have been lost in the fires, which Mayor Dimitris Kalogeropoulos, according to AFP, calls a huge disaster.
“We have not received a full overview of the damage yet, but there are around ten houses in Ziria that have burned down, in addition to farm sheds and barns, which means a lot to the inhabitants of this region, which is dependent on agriculture,” the mayor said. TO REACH.
A crisis center has been set up for the evacuees in the town hall in Aigialeias.
– We’ve been through hell. We feared we would lose everything in the flames, says Giorgos Alexopoulos.
Also in Greece, several tourists are among the evacuees.
Firefighters in Spain
At the same time, Italy is again hit by fires after large areas of forest, olive groves and crops were destroyed by fire in Sardinia last weekend.
In the course of one day, the fire brigade has extinguished more than 800 fires or fires, most of them in the south, the Italian fire brigade informs. On Sunday, the fire brigade continued to fight the flames in Catania, Palermo and Siracusa in Sicily.
In Spain, firefighters were deployed to put out a forest fire that broke out Saturday afternoon near the San Juan reservoir about 70 miles east of Madrid.
The fire brigade managed to stabilize the fire on Sunday night, but they still ask people to stay away from the popular bathing resort.
–
