Turkey dispatches helicopters, ground team to battle Belen wildfire

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 Jul 2023 21:26

All residents of the area have been evacuated.

For illustrative purposes. (AFP)

Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ibrahim Yumakli said on Sunday that nine planes, 21 helicopters, and 375 people have been dispatched to extinguish a wildfire in the Belen district of Turkey's Hatay province.

"Nine airplanes, 21 helicopters, 59 ground vehicles and 375 personnel were dispatched to extinguish the forest fire in the Hatay Belen area. The effective intervention of our teams from the air and ground continues uninterruptedly," the minister was quoted as saying by Star daily.

Felaket üstüne felaket 😔 #hatay #belen pic.twitter.com/8lEZxzGgY5
— Hatay City 🇹🇷 (@HatayCity) July 16, 2023

The province's Governor Mustafa Masatli told the Anadolu news agency that all residents of the area have been evacuated.

"Our air and ground teams are involved in fighting a forest fire in the Sogukoluk district, and we have also requested support from neighboring provinces. We have evacuated our citizens from communities in the area," Masatli said.

Turkey Wildfires are wrecking havoc to locals.
It's time to get more serious about climate change or we perish.#ClimateEmergency #GlobalWarming #wildfires pic.twitter.com/fWevfIqul2
— Joseph (@PhilFod) July 16, 2023