By Mert Ozkan
MANAVGAT, Turkey (Reuters) – The death toll from wildfires on Turkey’s southern coast has risen to four and firefighters were battling blazes for a third day on Friday after the evacuation of dozens of villages and some hotels.
More than 60 wildfires have broken out across 17 provinces on Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts this week, officials have said. The forestry minister said fires raged on in six provinces, and officials have promised to bring to account anyone found responsible for starting them.
Villages and some hotels have been evacuated in areas popular with tourists, and TV footage had shown people fleeing across fields as they watched fires close in on their homes.
Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said fires were still blazing in six provinces, including the Mediterranean resort region of Antalya and the Aegean resort province of Mugla.
“We were hoping to contain some of the fires as of this morning but while we say cautiously that they are improving, we still cannot say they are under control,” he said.
Firefighters on the ground and in helicopters were fighting a blaze that killed three people in Manavgat, 75 km (45 miles) east of the Mediterranean resort of Antalya.
One person was also found dead on Thursday in Mugla’s Marmaris area, 290 km west of Manavgat. The blaze was continuing in Marmaris but residential areas were not at risk, Pakdemirli said.
Urbanisation Minister Murat Kurum said 27 neighbourhoods were evacuated due to the fires in Manavgat and 15 others neighbourhoods and 2,300 structures were effected.
Some areas were evacuated in Adana and Mersin after fires began to spread around Manavgat on Wednesday, fanned by strong winds in hot weather. A hospital in Manavgat was also evacuated.
Buildings including a hotel in Marmaris were evacuated, Reuters TV footage showed. Two separate fires broke out near residential areas in the Aegean summer hotspots of Bodrum in Mugla, and Didim in Aydin province.
Pakdemirli said three planes, nine drones, 38 helicopters 680 firefighting vehicles and 4,000 personnel were involved in firefighting efforts and separate wildfires raged in the provinces of Osmaniye, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Adana, Mersin and Kutahya.
(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen and Daren Butler, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
