MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. The Russian Emergencies Ministry’s Il-76 firefighting aircraft has arrived at Turkey’s Antalya to extinguish wildfires, a source in aviation services told TASS on Saturday.
"Il-76 aircraft has landed in the airport of Antalya. It will participate in wildfires fighting in Turkey," the source said.
Three Be-200 amphibious planes of the Russian Emergencies Ministry are already involved in efforts to extinguish wildfires in the Antalya area. One of them has been extinguishing fire for several hours on Saturday between Antalya and Manavgat.
The Turkish authorities turned for help in extinguishing wildfires near settlements and tourism zones to Russia. It was decided to send a combined air group of the Russian Defense Ministry and the Russian Emergencies Ministry of 11 aircraft to Turkey.
A wildfire broke out Wednesday not far from the resort town of Manavgat in Turkey’s southern Antalya province due to extremely hot weather in the region, according to preliminary data. On Thursday, the fires erupted in a number of other provinces, including the resort provinces of Aydin and Mugla. According to Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency, the number of casualties as a result of the blazes reached six with 183 people injured. As of now 88 out of 98 fire areas have been extinguished, with more than 1,100 people involved in firefighting.