Erdogan: Forest fires in Turkey are the worst in history
Turkey is battling the worst forest fires in its history, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said as the blaze in an area in the southwestern part of the country spread to a thermal power plant.
- The fires that happened this year have never happened in our history. These are the biggest fires so far, Erdogan said in a television interview.
Due to high temperatures and strong winds, fires have forced thousands of Turks and foreign tourists to flee their homes and hotels on the Aegean coast and the Mediterranean. Eight people lost their lives in last week's fires.
Planes and dozens of helicopters joined firefighters battling the blaze, but Erdogan's government has been criticized for its swift response.
More than a week after the first fires broke out, 16 of them are still burning, the forestry minister said.
"In the last two weeks, fires in Turkey have burned three times as much as an average of one fire destroyed each year." said the European Fire Agency.
