Turkey: evacuation of thermal power plant threatened by wildfire

Turkey: evacuation of thermal power plant threatened by wildfire
Credit: Canva

A thermal power plant on the Aegean Sea in southern Turkey was evacuated as it came under threat from a fire that has been raging for nearly a week.

On Wednesday, firefighters, police, and residents fled the site as flames licked the perimeter of the plant near the town of Milas.

Local authorities had earlier said that the hydrogen tanks used to cool the plant, which runs on oil and coal, had been emptied and filled with water as a precaution.

Images posted online by Milas Mayor Muhammet Tokat showed a raging fire at the gates of the plant.

"The power plant is being completely evacuated," Tokat tweeted.

This latest evacuation comes after more than a week of unprecedented wildfires in the region that have killed eight people and destroyed huge swathes of forest along Turkey's southern coast.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted in an evening television interview that the plant "was at risk of being destroyed by fire".

The Brussels Times


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