Azerbaijan's amphibious aircraft continues firefighting efforts in Türkiye VIDEO

The Be-200CS amphibious aircraft by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations, dispatched to Türkiye upon the instructions of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to assist the brotherly nation in combating severe wildfires, continues participating in firefighting operations.

The aircraft has been actively involved in extinguishing wildfires in the Akhisar-Taskuyucak area over the past 24 hours, the ministry told Caliber.Az.

The operations to control and extinguish the fires are ongoing. The blazes in Türkiye's western coastal province of Izmir and northern province of Bolu started late on August 22 and firefighters have been working to contain them since then.

Speaking in Izmir's Karsiyaka district, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said cooling efforts were under way to fully extinguish the fires. A small fire that started in Izmir's Urla district on August 17 was also under control, he said. More forest fires in Izmir's Menderes district and in the western provinces of Aydin, Manisa and Usak as well as the northern province of Karabuk were still burning. 

Planes, helicopters and other vehicles had been brought in to douse the flames and all were "close to being contained." Turkish authorities warned of a high risk of further wildfires in northern and western Türkiye for the next couple of days due to high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds. Several parts of Türkiye, especially its coastal regions, have been ravaged by wildfires in recent years as summers have become hotter and drier, which scientists attribute to climate change.