Istanbul, Aug 23, (dpa/GNA) – Turkish firefighting teams were battling a large wildfire, in western Çanakkale province on Wednesday for the second day in a row.
Strong winds were making it difficult the extinguish the blaze, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said in televised remarks.
The fire forced the Dardanelles strait along Çanakkale to close to shipping traffic on Tuesday. It is some 320 kilometres south-west of Turkey’s largest city Istanbul.
More than 1,250 people have been evacuated so far and 83 others hospitalized, authorities said earlier. Eight planes and 26 helicopters are currently joining over 2,650 personnel on the ground.
A rescue vessel was separately dispatched to the port of Çanakkale to help firefighting efforts, the coastal safety authority said on social media platform X, formerly called Twitter.
Turkey has been struggling with a heatwave through the summer, prompting wildfires across the country.
What caused the Çanakkale blaze is still unclear.
GNA