Firefighters struggle to contain wildfires as heatwave sears Turkey and Cyprus

By Ayhan Uyanik

BILECIK, Turkey/OMODHOS, Cyprus (Reuters) -Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Turkey and Cyprus on Thursday that have scorched swathes of land, forced the evacuation of towns and villages and killed 10 firefighters in central Turkey amid a searing Mediterranean heatwave.

At least six separate wildfires were burning across Turkey, and Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli warned that strong winds and blazing heat were creating extremely dangerous conditions.

Ten firefighters were killed while battling a fire in the central Eskisehir province, Yumakli said late on Wednesday, adding that 14 others were injured. Fanned by strong winds, the fire later spread to another central province, Afyonkarahisar.

In the northwestern province of Bilecik, fires raged for a fourth straight day, as firefighters struggled to contain them.

Residents were evacuated from fire-threatened areas of all three Turkish provinces, though some residents were later allowed to return to areas in Bilecik that were declared safe.

"They couldn't intervene. There is no decent road, forests are thick and it's rocky. Helicopters don't work at night, and because they don't work, they couldn't intervene," said Cemil Karadag, a resident of the village of Selcik in Bilecik.

"It engulfed our village from two or three sides ... It spread very quickly with the effect of the wind, but, thank God, (the centre of) our village wasn't damaged that much."

Another fire in the neighbouring province of Karabuk, where the UNESCO World Heritage City of Safranbolu is located, quickly grew and led to 10 villages being evacuated.

'UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION'

On the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, firefighters battled for a second day to control a massive wildfire which engulfed mountain villages north of the city of Limassol. Six countries from Spain to Jordan were deploying aid, officials said.

Two people were found dead in their car, trapped by the blaze which started on Wednesday. Scores of homes were destroyed as people fled a towering wall of flames overnight.

Although the fire's cause was not immediately known, authorities said they would be looking into the possibility of arson.

Authorities were struggling to contain flare-ups that were being stoked by strong winds, cranking up water drops by aircraft to prevent it reaching a state forest and before nightfall.

"We are facing an unprecedented situation," said government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis. He said Jordan and Egypt deployed firefighting aircraft on Thursday, while assistance was expected from Spain, Israel, Lebanon and Greece.

"When dawn came we saw a catastrophe of biblical proportions," said Kostas Hatzikonstantinou, who struggled to maintain composure as he stood outside his home, hollowed out by the fire which razed his community on Thursday morning.

"It's an unspeakable tragedy... Unfortunately, we'll no longer have this paradise that we enjoyed for so many years," he said.

The blaze razed an estimated 124 sq km (48 sq miles), officials said, in an area famed for its centuries-old vineyards and wine. Firefighters were struggling to keep it away from the evacuated hamlet of Omodhos, home to a church containing priceless early Christian relics.

Ersin Tatar, president of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognised only by Turkey and has been split from the island's south, said his government was ready to assist.

Although heatwaves and wildfires are common in the region, their impact on human life along with the scale of destruction have become more pronounced in recent years due to shifting weather patterns.

(Reporting by Ayhan Uyanik in Bilecik, Michele Kambas and Yiannis Kourtoglou in Nicosia, and Tuvan Gumrukcu in Ankara; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Holmes, Joe Bavier and Toby Chopra)