Forest fire in Turkey bright under control after 2 days

Ankara, Sep 9 (IANS) A wildfire in Turkey was finally brought under control after it raged for two days, leaving eight people injured, including one in serious condition, according to Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.A total of 25 people were affected by the fire, the Minister said in a tweet. The wildfire, which broke out on Wednesday in the Gulnar district of the southern coastal province of Mersin and spread to the nearby district of Silifke by strong winds, also forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 people, Mersin Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan told reporters.About 1,500 hectares of forest were burned in the fire, Deputy Agriculture and Forestry Minister Veysel Tiryaki said, adding authorities dispatched aircraft and water-dropping helicopters to extinguish the fire, reports Xinhua news agency.An investigation for the cause of the fire is still underway, he added.According to Tiryaki, firefighters also put out another fire in the southern resort province of Antalya on Thursday.
--IANS ksk/

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