Russian firefighting aircraft crashes in Turkey, killing eight

A military plane and a helicopter were sent to the crash scene to help the search operation

A videograb image taken and released by DHA Turkish News Agency shows the wreckage of the Russian Beriev Be-200 aircraft in Kahramanmaras province, southern Turkey. DHA AFP via Getty Images

Eight people have been killed after a Russian firefighting aircraft helping tackle wildfires in Turkey crashed on Saturday.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the Beriev Be-200 amphibious plane went down at about 1.30pm GMT with eight people on board.

The water drop aircraft crashed in southern province Kahramanmaras.

“Five crew members from Russian military personnel and three citizens of Turkey who were spotting fire centres were killed,” the ministry said.

Another military aircraft and a helicopter were sent to the crash scene to help with the search operation, Turkey's defence ministry said.

The aircraft had taken off from Adana in southern Turkey to help extinguish fires burning in Kahramanmaras.

The Russian military sent the Be-200, part of the Russian Naval Aviation, to Turkey last month, where its crew was helping Turkey fight wildfires raging through southern coastal regions.

In recent days, Turkey has been gaining control over the hundreds of wildfires that killed eight people and destroyed swathes of forest along the scenic southern coast.

Heavy rainfall has helped firefighting efforts in Turkey's Mediterranean and Aegean provinces, after the fires ravaged tens of thousands of hectares for almost two weeks.

People watch a wildfire near the village of Akcayaka in Milas, Mugla, south-west Turkey.

Strong winds drove the fire towards the Kemerkoy power plant in Mugla.

Navy vessels were deployed to help ferry residents away, while cars and tractors formed long convoys on roads leading away from the area.

The fire at the plant was eventually contained after raging for 11 hours.

Turkey’s worst wildfires in decades have raged for nine days amid scorching heat, low humidity and constantly shifting strong winds.

The fires have killed eight people and countless animals.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has come under intense criticism over an alleged slow response and inadequate preparedness for large-scale fires.

Turkey's government acknowledged the country did not have a usable fleet of water-dropping planes.

Firefighting aircraft from Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Spain and Croatia arrived in Turkey to help tackle the flames.

A heatwave across southern Europe, fed by hot air from North Africa, has contributed to wildfires breaking out across the Mediterranean, including Italy and Greece.

Turkey's official disaster agency AFAD is also dealing with flash floods in its northern Black Sea regions.

Teams combed through the rubble of dozens of homes that collapsed in the village of Babacay in Sinop province, where 40 houses and two bridges were completely destroyed by the floods.

The latest official death toll, published by AFAD on Saturday, stood at 44, with nine other people in hospital.

In both areas, the clean-up from the floods and the fires has barely started.

Greece, which also suffered wildfires in the searing summer heat, also had most of its blazes under control by Friday.

But national fire experts warned high winds could bring new problems in the coming days.