A forest worker victim of a fire in the province of Izmir, in western Turkey, died of his injuries, bringing three people who have died in the fires that have been ravaging the country for several days, announced on Saturday July 5 Ibrahim Yumakli, the Minister of Agriculture and Forests. Ragip Sahin, “Wounded by fighting the fire in Ödemis and hospitalized, died”wrote the minister on X.
The fire that ravaged the Ödemis district, about 100 kilometers east of Izmir's seaside resort, had claimed the life of an 81 -year -old man and a 39 -year -old forest worker on Thursday. He was mastered on Friday evening, just like six other forest fires, mainly in the west and center of Turkey, said Mr. Yumakli. The firefighters, on the other hand, were still trying to master a fire in the southern coastal zone of Dörtyol, in the province of Hatay, in the south of the country, on the Syrian border.
A ÖDEMIS, “The fire has spread with violence, there is nothing more to burn. About 5,000 hectares have been reduced to ashes ”said the mayor, Mustafa Turan, in a video broadcast on X. On Monday, the Turkish authorities announced the evacuation of more than 50,000 people to allow them to escape fires.
Turkey has been spared by recent heat waves that have affected the rest of southern Europe, but firefighters have fought in recent days against more than 600 fires, powered by strong winds. Temperatures must increase from weekends and exceed 40 ° C at the start of the week in the south and on the west coast of Turkey. Since the beginning of the year, the country faced with a recurrent drought linked to climate change has recorded more than 3,000 fire departures, including 1,300 in forest areas.
Source: Lemonde