Ten workers killed battling wildfires in Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shared his condolences on X. "I pray for God's mercy on our brothers and sisters who fought at the cost of their lives to protect our forests, and I offer my condolences to their families and our nation," he said.Meanwhile, Nebi Hatipoglu, the constituency's lawmaker said the community was "experiencing deep grief" over the loss of the "heroic forest workers who were martyred while fighting the flames". Temperatures across the country have surpassed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days and fires are currently burning across five areas - Sakarya, Bilecik, Eskisehir, İzmir, Karabuk and Manisa. Hundreds of wildfires have broken out across Turkey this summer, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes.AKUT Search and Rescue Association is a non-governmental organisation for disaster search and rescue relief.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Huge wildfires rage across Turkey as 13 dead & ‘disaster zones' declared – as president warns of ‘truly great disaster'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DEVASTATING wildfires have once again erupted in Turkey with hundreds of people evacuated as massive blazes continue to rip through the country. The president of the country has warned of a "truly great disaster" after at least 13 people died in the fatal fires. 10 A view of smoke rising from a forest fire burning in the mountainous area in Turkey Credit: Getty 10 A wildfire rages across a forested area near Cavuslar village, in Karabuk district, northwest Turkey, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Ridvan Bostanci/IHA via AP) Credit: AP 10 Turkish General Directorate of Forestry teams and firefighters continue their efforts to extinguish the fire that broke out in the forested areas in Alanya and Gazipasa Credit: Getty 10 Smoke and flames rise among the trees as villagers are being evacuated after a forest fire Credit: Getty New wildfires broke out on Turkey's Mediterranean coast on Friday, as the government declared two western provinces in the country to be "disaster zones". East of Antalya, fires broke out in Adana and Mersin on Friday. Elsewhere in the country, firefighters continued battling blazes in Eskisehir and nearby Karabuk that have been raging for several days. Images showed flames and smoke billowing into the sky close to high-rise apartment buildings in Antalya, where local and foreign visitors flock during the summer months. Homes were evacuated in the city centre and the outlying district of Aksu as the fire advanced, news agency DHA reported. Firefighters struggled to extinguish the blazes before strong winds could spread the fire, which closed a major coastal road. Further along the coast, homes in the city of Manavgat were also threatened. Local residents with hoses and buckets rushed to assist firefighters as water-dropping helicopters and planes also battled the flames. Police water cannons and municipal water trucks were also enlisted in the firefighting efforts. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the country faced "a truly great disaster" after 25,000 people got involved in the emergency effort. Two burned alive in Cyprus & another 10 killed in Turkey in horror wildfires On Thursday, at least six separate wildfires were burning across Turkey. Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli warned that strong winds and blazing heat were creating extremely dangerous conditions. He said that ten firefighters were killed while battling a fire in the central Eskisehir province, Yumakli said late on Wednesday, adding that 14 others were injured. Fanned by strong winds, the fire later spread to another central province, Afyonkarahisar. In the northwestern province of Bilecik, fires raged for a fourth straight day, as firefighters struggled to contain them. Residents were evacuated from fire-threatened areas of all three Turkish provinces, though some residents were later allowed to return to areas in Bilecik that were declared safe. 10 Smoke rises from the burnt area as firefighting efforts continue on the third day of forest fires in Turkish city of Karabuk on July 25 Credit: Getty 10 A wildfire rages across a forested area near Cavuslar village, in Karabuk district, northwest Turkey Credit: AP 10 Firefighters respond to a wildfire near Osmaneli in the western Bilecik province, Turkey Credit: Reuters 10 Another fire in the neighbouring province of Karabuk, where the UNESCO World Heritage City of Safranbolu is located, quickly grew and led to 10 villages being evacuated. Antalya Gov. Hulusi Sahin said that the fires were under control apart from one in Aksu, which was showing a tendency to grow, and another in Gazipasa, east of Manavgat. "The fires were truly disturbing and dangerous, because they occurred in city centres, among houses," he said. "We evacuated some of our homes ... There are no deaths or injuries." At 46.1°C, July temperatures in Antalya city were the highest for the month since records began in 1930. Turkey has faced widespread outbreaks of forest fires since late June. Firefighters were battling more than 600 fires fuelled by high winds in the drought-hit nation. Residents watched in horror as their homes were torched up and forestry continued to burn. Aftermath photos showed scorched cars and buildings while firefighters worked desperately to fight the flames. Meanwhile, Cyprus has been hit with its worst wildfires "for 50 years" amid growing fears a 44°C heatwave will fuel the blaze even further. The country has plunged into chaos after two people were burnt alive and more than 70 houses were destroyed. 10 Smoke fills the air as firefighters battle a forest fire the Cypriot village of Omodos Credit: AFP 10 Residents try to extinguish the blazes in Cyprus Credit: AP
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Huge wildfires rage across Turkey as 13 dead & ‘disaster zones' declared – as president warns of ‘truly great disaster'
DEVASTATING wildfires have once again erupted in Turkey with hundreds of people evacuated as massive blazes continue to rip through the country. The president of the country has warned of a "truly great disaster" after at least 13 people died in the fatal fires. 10 10 10 New wildfires broke out on Turkey's Mediterranean coast on Friday, as the government declared two western provinces in the country to be "disaster zones". East of Antalya, fires broke out in Adana and Mersin on Friday. Elsewhere in the country, firefighters continued battling blazes in Eskisehir and nearby Karabuk that have been raging for several days. Images showed flames and smoke billowing into the sky close to high-rise apartment buildings in Antalya, where local and foreign visitors flock during the summer months. Homes were evacuated in the city centre and the outlying district of Aksu as the fire advanced, news agency DHA reported. Firefighters struggled to extinguish the blazes before strong winds could spread the fire, which closed a major coastal road. Further along the coast, homes in the city of Manavgat were also threatened. Local residents with hoses and buckets rushed to assist firefighters as water-dropping helicopters and planes also battled the flames. Police water cannons and municipal water trucks were also enlisted in the firefighting efforts. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the country faced "a truly great disaster" after 25,000 people got involved in the emergency effort. Two burned alive in Cyprus & another 10 killed in Turkey in horror wildfires On Thursday, at least six separate wildfires were burning across Turkey. Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli warned that strong winds and blazing heat were creating extremely dangerous conditions. He said that ten firefighters were killed while battling a fire in the central Eskisehir province, Yumakli said late on Wednesday, adding that 14 others were injured. Fanned by strong winds, the fire later spread to another central province, Afyonkarahisar. In the northwestern province of Bilecik, fires raged for a fourth straight day, as firefighters struggled to contain them. Residents were evacuated from fire-threatened areas of all three Turkish provinces, though some residents were later allowed to return to areas in Bilecik that were declared safe. 10 10 Another fire in the neighbouring province of Karabuk, where the UNESCO World Heritage City of Safranbolu is located, quickly grew and led to 10 villages being evacuated. Antalya Gov. Hulusi Sahin said that the fires were under control apart from one in Aksu, which was showing a tendency to grow, and another in Gazipasa, east of Manavgat. "The fires were truly disturbing and dangerous, because they occurred in city centres, among houses," he said. "We evacuated some of our homes ... There are no deaths or injuries." At 46.1°C, July temperatures in Antalya city were the highest for the month since records began in 1930. Turkey has faced widespread outbreaks of forest fires since late June. Firefighters were battling more than 600 fires fuelled by high winds in the drought-hit nation. Residents watched in horror as their homes were torched up and forestry continued to burn. Aftermath photos showed scorched cars and buildings while firefighters worked desperately to fight the flames. Meanwhile, Cyprus has been hit with its worst wildfires "for 50 years" amid growing fears a 44°C heatwave will fuel the blaze even further. The country has plunged into chaos after two people were burnt alive and more than 70 houses were destroyed. 10
Sky News
5 hours ago
- Sky News
Turkey faces 'truly great disaster', warns Erdogan amid raging wildfires and sweltering temperatures across Europe
Disaster zones have been declared in two provinces of Turkey as new wildfires broke out on the Mediterranean coast. Smoke billowed across the sky in the popular resort of Antalya, with homes evacuated in the city centre and elsewhere. In the nearby city of Manavgat locals grabbed hoses and buckets to help firefighters, with aircraft dumping water from above. Other wildfires started on Friday in Adana and Mersin, further east along the coast. Turkey's interior minister declared the western provinces of Izmir and Bilecik "disaster areas" after a month of fires in the country. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said on Friday that the country faced "a truly great disaster" and that 25,000 people were involved in the emergency effort. Thirteen people have been killed so far, including 10 volunteers and forestry workers in the central Eskisehir province on Wednesday. Cyprus has also been enduring one of its worst wildfires in living memory. Temperatures have reached 43C (109F) on the island this week. Two people were found dead in their car on Wednesday and scores of homes have been destroyed. Spain, Egypt, Jordan and Israel were providing assistance, and planes from the RAF base on the island were also helping. Elsewhere in southern Europe, firefighters in Albania have been dealing with a blaze in the mountainous forests near Elbasan. The devastating fires come amid dry, sweltering temperatures in southern parts of the continent. Greece's iconic Acropolis was forced to limit its hours this week as it approached the mid-40s, while there's also been intense heat in the Balkans. And it's not only southern Europe that's been getting abnormal heat: Finland broke a record this week after experiencing 14 straight days above 30C. The previous record of 13 days was set in 1972. Respite looks to be ahead, however, with many areas expected to cool to more usual levels next week. Most experts attribute the above-average temperatures for this time of year to human-caused climate change and say wildfires are likely to become more frequent. 2024 was the warmest year on record, with above the pre-industrial era for the first time.
