A wildfire killed on Wednesday 11 forest workers who were battling to douse the flames near Eskisehir in western Turkey, the local authorities said.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of 11 heroic forest workers who died fighting the flames,” Nebi Hatipoglu, the constituency’s lawmaker, said on X.
High temperatures and strong winds have fanned the wildfire between Istanbul and the capital Ankara since Tuesday morning, with the spread of the flames threatening homes and forcing the evacuation of several villages.
Victims were caught in the blaze on Wednesday when the flames suddenly changed direction, according to news website BirGun.
The sudden changes of direction wrong-footed the forest workers and volunteers, with the 11 victims “burnt alive”, BirGun added.
“Unfortunately there are no words to describe our grief,” added Hatipoglu, from the ruling AKP party.
Turkey has been sweltering since Sunday under temperatures between six to 12 degrees Celsius above the seasonal norms, according to weather forecasters.
Several fires have been declared across the country in the tinder-box conditions.
Scientists have long warned that burning fossil fuels is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves more likely and more intense.
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