Residents have been evacuated in Antalya, Turkey, as a wildfire spreads towards homes in the Aksu district. Hundreds of firefighters are battling the blaze, which broke out at around 6pm local time and has been fanned by strong winds into residential areas.
One house destroyed as fire spreads
One house has been completely destroyed, with smoke spreading from the Karaöz neighbourhood, according to Turkish outlet Cumhuriyet. The cause of the fire is unknown.
Around 45 fire engines and 275 firefighters are attempting to bring the forest fire under control, supported by nine helicopters and three planes.
Evacuations and road closures
Many residents have been evacuated, while the road running from Karaoz into the centre of Antalya has been closed to traffic due to flames. A statement from the Regional Forestry Directorate said: "Our teams are intervening from the air and the ground in the spot fires caused by flammable materials spreading due to the energy of the main fire."
Locals have also been building barricades to protect their homes from the advancing wildfire. One resident, Muhammet Özdemir, told Cumhuriyet: "They told me there was a fire near my house. Both the right and left sides are burning. It came right up to my house. There's nothing left, not even a tree."
No casualties reported
Ahmet Karakış, an elected official for the Aksu district, confirmed that people had been evacuated and a house had burnt down, but there have not been any reported casualties. He said: "We evacuated many houses in the neighbourhood immediately after the fire started. So far, one house has burned down completely. Thank God there are no casualties. We are working with all our might to extinguish the fire."
The fire has spread in different directions due to the wind and has reached the borders of the Döşemealtı, Kızıllı, and Ilıca districts, with further evacuations taking place, including at an animal shelter. Police have told people to leave their homes as a precaution, water cannons are being deployed in surrounding districts, and people are not being allowed to exit into the zone.
The blaze follows a summer in which wildfires have ripped through large areas of Europe, including the UK, on an unprecedented scale due to extreme temperatures.
