Wildfires blaze on in drought-hit Turkey, government faced fresh criticism

Firefighters using planes and helicopters, and locals with buckets of water, battled wildfires raging for a sixth day near southern resorts in drought-hit Turkey and the government faced fresh criticism of its handling of the disaster.

While 16 planes and 51 helicopters tackled the blazes across a swathe of southwest Turkey, villagers carrying water containers up a hill to fight a fire near Marmaris said the government was not doing enough to help them.

The wildfires are another blow to Turkey’s tourism industry following the COVID-19 pandemic.