Turkey wildfires blaze across southern coastline for 7th consecutive day
Istanbul, Aug 3 (EFE).- Turkey’s fight to contain some 13 wildfires blazing across several popular tourist destinations in the south and west of the country has entered its seventh consecutive day.
Early on Tuesday morning, authorities evacuated a neighbourhood in the city of Manavgat, in Antalya province, due to the threat of a rapidly spreading fire that started Wednesday.
The fires in Antalya province have resulted in a total of seven deaths so far, while Mugla province has reported one fatality, according to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
On Monday night, a new fire started in Gündogmus and spread to six neighbourhoods within the town, which is some 76 kilometres from Manavgat, according to NTV.
Neighbours fled the area with their own private vehicles or in public town-owned trucks and have attempted to save animals and livestock from the fire.
In Mugla, located by the Aegean Sea, firefighters are confronting the flames to avoid them reaching the Yatagan thermal power plant.
Muhammed Tokat, mayor of the town of Milas in the Mugla province, announced Tuesday that the fires had stopped gaining ground thanks to winds dying down.
In Denizli province, the fire department managed to take control of the fire after 12 hours.
Mayors and opposition parties have urged authorities to send more planes to control and put out the flames.
Turkey activated on Sunday the RescEU mechanism, calling for the assistance of planes from the European Union. Two CL 415 aircrafts and a transport plane from Spain are expected to arrive on Tuesday.
