Turkey wildfires injure five near tourist coasts

Five people were injured as Turkish firefighters battled wind-driven wildfires near tourist areas on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts on Thursday, authorities said.

Authorities in Balikesir province said the injured included three firefighters, a forestry official and a civilian. They were being treated at a hospital in Ayvalik and their lives were not in danger, provincial authorities said.

Six water-bombing planes, seven helicopters, 56 fire engines, three water cannons, 920 firefighters and 60 volunteers were deployed around Ayvalik, Burhaniye and Gomec, the authorities said. Three villages near Ayvalik, opposite the Greek island of Lesbos, had been evacuated along with 720 cattle.

Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said emergency teams had tackled 169 fires across Turkey since Wednesday, 163 of which had been completely brought under control. He made the statement before several hotspots reignited, including in Fethiye on the southwest coast.

Private broadcaster NTV said winds of 50 to 60 kilometres per hour caused a fire to restart near Bagyuzu, about 30 kilometres from Ayvalik. The agriculture ministry also sent text alerts to residents in southern and western regions considered at high risk of wildfires.

The previous day, authorities said hundreds of people had been evacuated during wildfires near southern tourist beaches. The Mugla governor's office said one fire began on agricultural land and spread to a forest, and that 202 residents and some hospital patients had been evacuated.