Six Forestry Workers Killed In Fire In Southern Turkey

ANKARA, Aug 26 (AFP) - Six forestry workers were killed Thursday while battling a forest fire in a rugged area of the southern Turkish province of Antalya, a local forestry official said.
"The workers asphyxiated on smoke as they were running away from flames fanned by the wind" near Gundogmus, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the province`s main city, also called Antalya, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The victims were part of a team which had been dropped off by helicopter after the fire broke out in a region difficult to access by road, he said.
The workers were left in the middle of the blaze when the wind abruptly changed direction, according to an emergency desk in Ankara.
Their bodies have been recovered and identified, local forestry chief Mustafa Kurtulmuslu told Anatolia news agency.
The blaze, which burnt five hectares of forested area, was taken under control, he said.
The death of the six workers brought to 88 the number of victims who have perished while fighting forest fires in Turkey since 1968, when authorities began keeping statistics, Anatolia said.
Forest fires are frequent in Mediterranean countries during the summer.