Ten killed in Turkey as forest fires rage in soaring heat

Officials warn of high risk of more blazes in coming days

A wildfire rages across a forested area near Cavuslar village in the Karabuk district of north-west Turkey. AP

Firefighters respond to a wildfire near Osmaneli, in the western Bilecik province. Reuters

A firefighter Osmaneli. Thermometers hit 41C in Istanbul and meteorologists warned of high temperatures around the country. Reuters

Smoke billows from a wildfire near Osmaneli. Forestry workers and search and rescue volunteers died after being trapped by the flames in western Turkey’s Eskisehir province. Reuters

Ten people were killed in forest fires in Turkey as blazes broke out around the country amid soaring temperatures.

Five forestry workers and five search and rescue volunteers were killed after becoming trapped when “a sudden change in winds fanned the flames towards them” during a forest fire in western Turkey’s Eskisehir province.

Fourteen other people are being treated in hospital for injuries caused by the fires, added Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli at a press conference in the capital Ankara.

AKUT, a search and rescue organisation, confirmed five of its volunteers were among those killed. "Each was a true hero of this land," it said.

At least nine forest fires broke out around Turkey on Wednesday and Mr Yumakli warned that high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity forecast in the coming days increased the risk of more fires.

Thermometers hit 41C in Istanbul and meteorologists warned of temperatures above seasonal norms around the country.

Wildfires in central Turkey kill at least 10 people

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This is the second time in less than a month that people have been killed in forest fires that have raged for days in Turkey.

Two people were killed this month by blazes that displaced at least 50,000 people and damaged or destroyed about 200 homes. Summer wildfires are common in Turkey, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying the conditions for their outbreak.

The EU has also recorded a surge in wildfires this year and its forest fires information system warned of “very extreme” risk in south-eastern Europe, including Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey, as well as in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

It has recorded 1,250 fires to date this year, a rise from 861 in the same period last year.