A helicopter drops water to extinguish a wildfire in Datca in Mugla province, Turkey July 14, 2022. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz
Ankara: Turkish authorities kept up efforts to contain a wildfire in the southwestern Datca peninsula, as strong winds overnight fanned the flames and forced some 2,400 people to evacuate the area.
Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 19 people had been affected by the fire and nine of them were still being treated as of Thursday morning. Some 2,400 people were evacuated as a precaution, Kirisci said.
Forestry Minister Vahit Kirisci said preliminary evaluations showed the fire broke out at a transformer in the area and up to 600 hectares of land was affected so far.
He said strong winds made it more difficult to contain the blaze, which broke out around midday on Wednesday.
"What makes our job a little more difficult is the wind effect, the direction and intensity of which are unpredictable," he added.
