At least 12 dead, dozens hurt in wildfires in southeastern Türkiye

MARDİN

 12 people were killed and dozens more were injured after a fire that started with the burning of crop stubble on June 21, which spread through settlements in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Mardin.

The fire started late June 20 when a stubble burned some 30 kilometers south of Diyarbakır province and spread quickly due to strong winds, affecting five villages in both the city and the neighboring province of Mardin.

Images posted on social media showed flames raging over a large area, lighting up the night sky as vast clouds of smoke billowed into the air.

Among the deceased, three were from Diyarbakır, while the remaining two were from Mardin, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced.

Ten of the injured individuals remain in critical condition, he added.

The fire suppression efforts continued until the early hours of June 21, with teams conducting extensive cooling operations which have since concluded.

Authorities have not yet identified the cause of the fire, or any suspects involved, with Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announcing that an investigation into the incident has been initiated.

The stubble fire came after a series of forest fires that have erupted across both the western and eastern regions of the country.

According to the latest figures from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), Türkiye has suffered 74 wildfires so far this year, which have ravaged 12,910 hectares of land.