Death toll in Turkey fires rises to six after two firefighters died

There are already six people killed by the dozen fires that devastate the south and west of Turkey, after the Turkish authorities confirmed this Saturday the death of two firefighters who were trapped yesterday in their tanker in the southern province of Antalyaen.

The flames trapped a fire truck with four workers yesterday afternoon in the municipality of Manavgat, where a fire has spread since Wednesday that has destroyed large areas of forests and agricultural land.

Two firefighters were unable to get out of the vehicle, while two others managed to get out and were injured, and are still admitted to the hospital today, although it is expected that they will be discharged shortly, reports the Turkish daily Hürriyet.

The dead bodies of the two trapped firefighters were found in the vehicle today, bringing the death toll in Turkey to six, five of them registered in Manavgat, according to a tally by the Turkish agency Anadolu.

The fires affect the entire Mediterranean coast of Turkey, from Hatay on the Syrian border to the coastal provinces of the Aegean Sea, with outbreaks in the tourist areas of Marmaris and Bodrum.

Today authorities had to briefly close the road between Marmaris and Datça, a popular summer destination, to traffic and in Bodrum, the flames have approached 150 meters from the city, reports the daily Hürriyet.

High temperatures in the eastern Mediterranean, approaching 40 degrees in southern Turkey and set to continue or even rise in the coming days, facilitate the spread of the fires.

The opposition has reproached the Government for the lack of preventive measures and the shortage of tanker aircraft, supplied in part by aircraft from Russia and Ukraine that help in the extinction efforts.