Türkiye assures further aid as Greece battles wildfires
ANKARA
Ankara has informed the Greek authorities that it is ready to provide further support in firefighting efforts, as crews have been battling wildfires in the heat-battered country for several days, Türkiye’s consul general in Rhodes has said.
Two Turkish firefighting planes and one helicopter, with a crew of nine people, arrived in Athens on July 22 to assist in the ongoing efforts to extinguish forest fires in Greece.
“They [Turkish crew] are currently continuing firefighting operations on the island of Rhode. We received information from our pilots. Due to the extreme weather conditions with high temperatures and strong winds hampering the efforts to tackle the wildfires, the entire island has been declared in a state of emergency,” Salim Kırcalıali told daily Milliyet.
“Türkiye has officially conveyed its readiness to assist its neighboring country when additional help is needed,” Kırcalıali stated.
While the Greek Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection said it was “the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country,” Kırcalıali also noted that all Turkish citizens on the island have been evacuated.
Pointing out that the evacuation efforts at Rhodes Airport are putting a strain on its facilities, Kırcalıali also reported that Türkiye has opened its airports for the landing of evacuation planes coming from Greece.
Additionally, Turkish maritime companies that regularly operate between Rhodes and Marmaris and Fethiye in Türkiye’s south have added extra trips to Türkiye
Greece has been sweltering under a lengthy spell of extreme heat that has exacerbated wildfire risk and left visitors stranded in peak tourist season.
Crews have been battling the flames in parts of Greece for about a week, and firefighters were from dawn on July 23 using aircraft to try to douse the flames on Rhodes.
Firefighters struggled through the night to contain 82 wildfires across Greece, 64 of which started on July 23, the hottest day of the summer so far.
The most serious fire was on the island of Rhodes. Some 30,000 people fled the flames on Rhodes at the weekend, while the police said 16,000 people had been transported on land and evacuated 3,000 by sea. Others had to flee by road or used their own transport after being told to leave the area.
Holiday-makers and some locals spent the night in gyms, schools and hotel conference centers on the island.
In the departures hall of the international airport, AFP saw groups of tourists sleeping on the floor, surrounded by luggage.