Firefighting teams in Turkey continue to fight relentlessly to stop the advance of the forest fires that have been raging since yesterday in the province of Bursa, in the northwest of the country, which have already forced the evacuation of more than 3,500 people and have caused one death and two serious injuries. With the onset of nightfall, hundreds of personnel fighting the blaze from the ground are left alone in the fight against the fire, waiting for the light of dawn to bring in much-needed help by air.
According to local media reports, the wildfire broke out at around 17:30 yesterday near the Ağlaşan neighbourhood, a rural area in the Kestel district some 30 kilometres northeast of the city of Bursa, and from there spread through a wooded area to the neighbouring Gürsu district, driven by the dryness of the terrain and the wind. At least 3,515 people had to be evacuated from about a dozen villages in the area, Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı was quoted as saying by the DHA news agency .
“At this moment there are 4 active fires in 3 provinces: in Kestel (Bursa), Harmancık (Bursa), Safranbolu (Karabük) and Onikişubat (Kahramanmaraş),” Yumaklı stated. “Yesterday, two separate fires broke out in Bursa, first in the Harmancık-Orhaneli area and then in the Kestel district. As we declared this afternoon, the fire in Harmancık-Orhaneli (in the south of Bursa province) is largely under control,” he announced.
“We have responded to these two forest fires (in Bursa) throughout the day with 6 aircraft – two of which are of heavy class – 4 helicopters – two of which are of heavy class – 855 ground vehicles and 2,300 personnel on the ground. In Bursa, a total of 3.515 citizens were evacuated from the neighbourhoods of Karahıdır, İğdir, Ağlaşan and Avdancık in Gürsu, as well as from the neighbourhoods of Çakmak, Çatalsöğüt, Çamoğlu, Ilıcaksu, Dutluca, Yakuplar and Gedikler in Harmancık, and moved to safe areas… With God’s help, we will win this war,” the minister declared.
Meanwhile, a water tanker on its way to support firefighting efforts in the active forest fires in the Gürsu and Kestel districts of Bursa was involved in an accident on Sunday afternoon after it veered off the road and overturned, falling down a steep slope. As a result of the accident, the driver and two other people travelling in the vehicle were left trapped inside the vehicle; upon arrival of the rescue teams, one of the people in the truck was found dead, while the other two were rushed to hospitals in this region of Turkey but their condition is critical, according to local media reports.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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