Türkiye expresses its condolences to Kazakhstan over lives lost in wildfires

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye expressed its condolences late Sunday to the government and people of Kazakhstan over the deaths of 14 forest rangers in fires in the country’s Abai region.

In a post on Twitter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Türkiye was saddened over reports about the loss of life from the fires.

"We express our condolences to the relatives of those who lost their lives, to the friendly and brotherly government and people of Kazakhstan," the ministry said.

“The bodies of 11 more people were found during search operations,” the state-run Kazinform news agency previously reported, citing the country’s Emergency Situations Ministry.

The identities of the victims are being determined, the agency added.

Earlier, search and rescue teams recovered the bodies of three forest rangers and were searching for 11 others in the 60,000-hectare (148,263-acre) fire.

The ministry said in a statement that more than 600 personnel, six helicopters and 168 pieces of equipment are involved in firefighting efforts.

The wildfires have occurred due to hot and dry weather conditions.