Kazakhstan sends 2 helicopters to help Turkey contain wildfires

NUR SULTAN, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan on Saturday sent two helicopters to Turkey in support of efforts to extinguish ongoing forest fires.

According to a statement by Kazakhstan Emergency Situations Ministry, the helicopters and a special team of 16 people took off from Nur Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, to Turkey's southwestern Mugla province upon the instruction of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The statement also said that Nur Sultan is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to restore forests damaged by fire.

Of some 223 forest fires that started last week, just six remain ongoing, Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said on Saturday.

​​​​​​​At least eight people have been killed, according to official figures, since fires started in southern Turkey on July 28.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan in Ankara