ANKARA, August 14. /TASS/. The Russian Embassy in Turkey is inquiring into the circumstances of the Be-200 firefighting aircraft crash in Turkey, the Russian diplomatic mission told TASS on Saturday.

"We are clarifying the circumstances of the crash, employees of the embassy’s consular department have been sent to the crash site," the spokesman said.

The Kahramanmaras Province’s administration told TASS that the Be-200 aircraft, leased from Russia, was putting out the wildfires in the Ilica area.

"A lightning strike started a fire in this mountainous area. The Be-200 was sent there, as it took off from Adana. The radio contact with the plane was lost soon, and afterwards rescue teams were dispatched to the area," the administration said.

On July 8, a Be-200 amphibious aircraft of the Russian Naval Aviation was deployed to Turkey to help extinguish wildfires. The crew had been trained at the Naval Aviation Combat Employment and Retraining Center in Yeysk (Krasnodar Region) and had practical experience in performing missions like that.

The Be-200 is the world’s largest amphibious aircraft designed to extinguish fires, including those in hard-to-reach areas. Its water drop capacity is 12 tonnes.

Forest fires in Turkey

Wildfires started raging in Turkey on July 29, engulfing seaside area and resorts, including Antalya and Mugla provinces. Two hotels evacuated their personnel and guests, and several hundreds of residential buildings were evacuated as well. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) says that eight people were killed and over 950 more injured in the fires.

On July 31, Ankara asked Russia to help in firefighting efforts near inhabited locations and tourist areas. The Russian Defense and Emergencies Ministries’ air group of eleven aircraft was dispatched to Turkey.

On August 12, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli assured that all the wildfires in Turkey were "under control.".