Hundreds of tourists evacuated as forest fire rages in Turkey
Pastor Dale Morgan
Hundreds of tourists evacuated as forest fire rages in Turkey*
ANKARA, July 15 (AFP) Jul 15, 2007
Authorities evacuated about 800 holiday-makers and at least one person
was reported hurt Sunday as a forest fire fanned by strong winds raged
at the Aegean coast in southwestern Turkey, officials said.
About 400 tourists, mostly foreigners, were evacuated from a posh
holiday village near the town of Milas and an equal number of people
emptied a complex of summer houses nearby, Milas deputy mayor Baris
Saylak told AFP by telephone.
"The strong wind makes it very difficult for us to take the fire under
control," he said.
An elderly woman was hospitalised with serious burns as she tried to
save her cats from the blaze, Anatolia news agency reported.
Eight firefighting helicopters and three planes were battling the fire,
backed by 600 workers and scores of volunteers on the ground, Governor
Lutfi Yegenoglu told Anatolia.
It was not immediately known what caused the blaze, which affected an
area of 130 hectares (321 acres), according to CNN Turk television.
The area is close to Bodrum, one of Turkey's most popular resorts, in
whose outskirts a large fire ravaged more than 300 hectares (740 acres)
of pinewood and forced the evacuation of two hotels last week.
Brush fires are common in Turkey during hot and arid summer months, but
the possibility of sabotage is also usually considered.
Last year, a radical Kurdish separatist group, which has also carried
out bomb attacks in urban centres, claimed responsibility for a series
of fires in southern and western Turkey.