Photo: The Telegraph
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily | AUGUST 1st 2021
According to the Turkish health minister, the death toll of the country’s recent wildfire has risen to six individuals, following the two recent deaths of forest workers. The exact extent of the damages is yet unclear, though it’s expected to be serious.
Wildfires are rather common in Turkey. Particularly in Southern Turkey, where there are fires erupting every year, during summertime. This year was no different, however, authorities have stated that this year’s fires are far more powerful, covering a much larger area than in previous years, killing a few and injuring thousands.
This year’s annual bout of fires had been raging on since Wednesday, forcing the evacuations of thousands of people. Plenty of forest land had already been burned, alongside some villages and popular tourists destinations, all of which had to be evacuated. Among the most recent was the holiday resort of Bodrum on the Aegean coast, where a blaze broke out on Saturday.
“Those responsible will have to account for the attacks against nature and forests,” said a senior aide of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The possibility of the fires being sparked by people is up for consideration, as the mayor of Marmaris stated that “sabotage” couldn’t be ruled out as a cause of the fire by the resort.
An announcement from Azerbaijan stated that the country would be sending hundreds of emergency responders, alongside helicopters and special equipment over to Turkey in order to assist with evacuation efforts, and to help get the fires under control.
Ukraine and Russia have also chimed in, offering to send planes to help the country. With all the aircrafts joining the fray, the two countries are now very involved in the firefighting efforts.
According to the presidency, President Erdogan had thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for sending his aircrafts, though the government had received some heavy criticism for not having enough planes on its own to deal with the crisis.
Despite nearly a third of Turkish territory being a wildfire risk, the country had no firefighting planes to speak of before the support. “The main reason for these issues with planes is that the Turkish Aeronautical Association has not been able to update its fleet and technology,” said President Erdogan, during a visit to one of the affected areas of Manavgat.
