As firefighters fought a blaze in southern Turkey for a second day on Thursday, more than 1,000 people were evacuated.
The fire started on Wednesday in the Mersin province’s Gulnar district and later extended to areas of the neighbouring Silifke district, fanned by the wind. Mersin is a Mediterranean coastal region. According to Turkey’s disaster and emergency management organisation, AFAD, at least 29 water-dropping helicopters, 11 planes, and roughly 850 workers were involved in the operation to put out the fire.
According to AFAD, hundreds of residences and at least two hotels were evacuated as a precaution. Seven victims of the fire were receiving medical care in hospitals. The state-run Anadolu Agency claimed that a motorway connecting Mersin with the neighbouring province of Antalya was also shut down out of an abundance of caution but reopened on Thursday.
