Guwahati News Desk: For the past three days, several parts of Turkey has been engulfed in raging flames, not just destroying forest covers but also destroying homes and leaving animals in danger as well.
As per the reports, the forest fires first started on Wednesday in the southern provinces of Mersin, Osmaniye, Adana, Antalya, and Kahramanmaras. Blazes also broke out in the southwestern province of Mugla and central provinces of Kirkwall and Kayseri.
According to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Bekir Pakdemirli, of the 98 fires that have broken out in numerous provinces since Wednesday, 88 are under control.
In some places, people were successfully evacuated in time, but six people did lose their lives so far due to the horrific flames.
Meanwhile, thousands of people have been battling almost 100 separate blazes in resorts and villages on Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean coasts.
The foreign tourists have been evacuated from beaches in south-western Turkey, where raging wildfires are now threatening hotels and homes. Even Turkish coastguard vessels, assisted by private boats and yachts, were deployed to bring the tourists to safety.
As the fires continue, several heart wrenching videos capturing the calamity, have flooded social media during the last couple of days. With hashtags #PrayforTurkey and #TurkeyisBurning, netizens in and outside the country have been trying to draw attention to the severity of the situation.
However, as firefighters race to control the flames, there have been many claims about ‘sabotage’ as well. Infact the authorities on Thursday, launched investigations into the fires.
Fahrettin Altun, a top aide to President Erdogan, stated, “Those responsible will have to account for the attacks against nature and forests”.
President Erdogan vowed that the government would do everything to help hundreds of people affected by the disaster to rebuild their lives.
However, the president has been heavily criticized for the shortage of firefighting aircraft in the country. But he said that “the main reason for these issues with planes is that the Turkish Aeronautical Association has not been able to update its fleet and technology”.
Photo | Reuters