(WATCH) Raging inferno – At least 10 dead, including firefighters, as flames engulf Turkey’s Eskisehir » Capital News

Ten people were killed in the Turkish city of Eskisehir on Wednesday while attempting to put out wildfires spreading across the country, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

In an official statement, the Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumakli, announced that 10 people, including five forestry workers, died “while trying to extinguish a forest fire in Eskisehir.”

The Minister explained that the fire “started in Eskisehir–Seyitgazi and spread to the borders of Afyonkarahisar.”

“Unfortunately, 19 forestry workers, 5 members of the AKUT search and rescue team, and 24 other individuals were caught inside the fire due to a sudden change in wind direction that turned the flames toward them. Of these, 14 are currently receiving treatment in various hospitals and are in stable condition. Sadly, we lost 5 of our forestry workers and 5 of our AKUT team members,” reads the statement.

The forest fires in Eskisehir are among the worst environmental disasters Turkey has faced this summer, amid soaring temperatures and the increasing threat of climate change

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