Turkey wildfire: death toll reaches 17; 97 people booked!

17;Istanbul: The death toll from wildfires that have raged in Turkey since late June has risen to 17. Ten firefighters and forest guards were killed in a blaze in the western Turkish city of Eskisehir on Wednesday. More than 3,500 people have fled the blaze, which has spread to Turkey's fourth-largest city of Bursa. The fire was still burning on Monday morning. The city is shrouded in a thick blanket of smoke.

The death toll from a wildfire in the northwestern Turkish city of Bursa rose to four on Sunday evening. A couple who were trapped under a water tanker they were using to extinguish the fire died in the hospital, news agencies reported. Another worker died at the scene, and a firefighter died of a heart attack on Sunday.

High temperatures, dry weather and strong winds are fuelling wildfires in Turkey and other parts of the eastern Mediterranean, where heatwaves are also happening. Hundreds of fires have been reported in Turkey over the past month. Firefighters have brought damage to a few houses to a stop, but most of the forest regions have been destroyed.

A vehicle travelling on a forest road has also been engulfed in flames after it overturned. Volunteers and firefighters have extinguished the fire, the IHA reported. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said 44 fires were burning in Turkey on Sunday alone. He identified the fires in Bursa province and northwestern Turkey as serious.

The western provinces of Izmir and Bilecik have been declared disaster areas. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said 97 people have been charged in 33 of Turkey's 81 provinces in connection with the fire. A group of people surrounded a police station in the village of Harmancik in Bursa, demanding that those involved in the fire be handed over to the locals. The crowd dispersed after police promised to conduct a thorough investigation.