Wildfires have sparked in Turkey after temperatures surged to above 40°C due to a severe heatwave.
The fires have torn through Turkey’s southeast region, hitting Kusadası, a beach resort town on Turkey’s the Aegean coast.
Helicopters and planes were deployed over the Diyarbakir and Mardin provinces in an attempt to extinguish the flames while hotels in some areas have also been evacuated.
Throughout the night, aircraft equipped with night vision cameras in İzmir’s Selçuk district worked to combat fire, with ground and air efforts resuming today.
Authorities have launched a probe into the origins of the fire, with Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya citing “stubble burning”, a farming method of removing crop residue from land to make way for the new season, as a possible cause.
The UK’s Foreign Office has updated its travel guidance to help tourists cope with the extreme heat saying local authorities may tell tourists to “leave their accommodation”.
It said: “If there is a wildfire in your area, local authorities may tell you to leave your accommodation. Follow the directions of local authorities. If you see a wildfire, call emergency services on 112.”
This marks Turkey’s 75th wildfire of the year according to the European Forest Fire Information System, with 31,900 acres of land already destroyed by June.
The Foreign Office emphasised the safety of British nationals is its main concern in determining our travel advice and it is constantly reviewing advice for each country to ensure it includes up-to-date information.
This comes after 12 people were killed in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Mardin earlier this month.
According to health minister, Fahrettin Koca, 78 people were also wounded following the fires.
The same region was also devastated by wildfires in three years ago, which resulted in the deaths of nine people.
Last year, Greece also suffered fires that devastated parts of the northeast of the country, which borders Turkey.
Amid the desperate situation, Nikos Gioktsidis, a nurse at the University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, said: “I’ve been working for 27 years. I’ve never seen anything like this. Stretchers everywhere, patients here, IV drips there – it was like a war, like a bomb had exploded.”