In Türkiye, five dead and dozens injured in a fire in the southeast of the country

At least five people were killed and dozens of others injured in a vegetation fire which spread to several villages in southeastern Turkey on the night of Thursday to Friday, the Minister of Health announced , June 21st. The pro-Kurdish opposition party DEM, which dominates this region, reported seven deaths and 44 injured.

The vegetation fire broke out late Thursday evening due to stubble burning in an area located about thirty kilometers south of Diyarbakir, said Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. The flames spread quickly under the influence of the wind, affecting five villages.

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Seven emergency teams and thirty-five ambulances were dispatched to the scene. “Unfortunately, three residents of Diyarbakir province and two of Mardin province lost their lives”reported Ali Yerlikaya on X. According to the Minister of the Interior and images broadcast by the official Turkish news agency Anadolu, the fire was “completely under control”. A judicial investigation has been opened, Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunç announced Friday morning.

During the night, the pro-Kurdish DEM party, the third force in parliament, urged the authorities to deploy air assets, as they did quickly in recent days after fires broke out in the west of the country. “So far, ground intervention has been insufficient. The authorities must intervene more widely and with aerial means without wasting time”had called on the party in the night, in a press release.

Nearly 13,000 hectares were destroyed by fires in Turkey in 2024, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis).