Forest fire in Marmaris | ‘The aerial support is still not enough’

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Marmaris Mayor Mehmet Oktay has stated that the district has still not received sufficient aerial support amid raging forest fires.

Posting a video on his social media account, the Mayor has shared information about the ongoing firefighting efforts to put out the fire that has been raging in Muğla's Marmaris for the past week:

"Today marks the seventh day of the fire. Unfortunately, we still cannot say that the fire has been fully taken under control. What we have been constantly repeating since the very beginning is the aerial support.

"In fact, aerial support was provided this morning by two helicopters. The fire markedly subsided. However, when we look at the current situation, there is unfortunately no aerial support at the moment.

"There has been an escalation in the fires in two places: In Delikyol and Orhaniye areas. We now hope to finally receive aerial support in the shortest time possible and to stop the fire in Marmaris."

About the fires in Turkey

Speaking to bianet about the current situation in the Turunç neighborhood in Marmaris, bianet's design consultant Ali Seçkin Karayol from Turunç has said that the firefighting aircraft, be that planes or helicopters, has to leave the area without fully extinguishing the fire:

"We see the following about the aerial vehicles: A helicopter comes and works for 15 minutes. It slows down the speed of the fire, but, then, it goes to another area and works there. [...] I do not know if it is possible to fully extinguish the fire in the region, this is the technical side of the issue. But when you look at it from here, you say, 'I wish they had worked for another 30 minutes so that the fire here would have been fully extinguished'."

Forest fires have been raging across Turkey since July 28. According to the latest statement released by the Directorate General of Forestry, seven fires in Muğla, two fires in Antalya, two fires in Denizli, two fires in Isparta and one fire in Aydın are still continuing in southern Turkey.

According to the Directorate, 174 forest fire broke out in Turkey in the last eight days; while 160 have been taken under control, 14 are still raging.

Eight people in total have lost their lives in those fires so far; while seven people died in Antalya, one person lost his life in Muğla.

Following the debates, six countries have offered aerial support to Turkey, namely Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, Croatia, Spain and Ukraine, which have provided 18 aerial vehicles, 16 free of charge. (AÖ/SD)