Enlarge image
Recording of a fire-fighting aircraft over a forest fire in the Turkish province of Mugla from last year: Now the region is on fire again
Photo: Emre Tazegul / dpa
Heavy bush and forest fires are raging in southwest Turkey and in the north of the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus for the third day in a row.
More than 270 people were brought to safety on Thursday in the south-west Turkish holiday region of Marmaris.
The fire continued to spread because high temperatures and strong winds made extinguishing efforts difficult, Forest and Agriculture Minister Vahit Kirisci said.
So far, almost 3000 hectares of land have been affected.
The broadcaster TRT reported that a forest fire was also raging in Kahramanmaras in south-eastern Turkey.
Turkish government is under criticism
The fire in Marmaris broke out in a national park near Bördübet on Tuesday, the cause is still unclear.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, arson is also being investigated.
Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu pointed out on Wednesday evening that the Mediterranean region is particularly vulnerable to forest fires due to climate change.
He accused the government of a lack of preparation.
Forest fires caused great destruction in parts of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea region in the summer months of last year.
Numerous people died.
At the time, the Turkish government was subjected to sharp criticism, among other things because there were no operational fire-fighting aircraft available at the beginning.
3000 emergency services fight the fire
According to official information, 14 aircraft and 47 helicopters were involved in the current extinguishing work.
Almost 3,000 emergency services fought against the flames.
Two firefighting planes from Israel were expected in northern Cyprus, as reported by the Turkish Cypriot broadcaster Bayrak TV.
Since Wednesday, aircraft from the Republic of Cyprus from the south of the island and helicopters from Turkey have also been in use.
The fights against the fires in the north have brought the two parts of the island a little bit closer.
Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot part in the south and a Turkish Cypriot part in the north since 1974.
The political leaders of the two parts have broken off negotiations to end the division since 2017.
ktz/dpa
