Fight against wildfire in Kazakhstan’s Abai region continues

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Firefighters in Kazakhstan’s eastern Abai region kept battling the forest fire that poses “no threat to settlements,” the country’s emergency services said on Tuesday.

A statement by the Kazakh Emergency Situations Ministry said more than 1,800 people and about 350 pieces of equipment from the ministry, as well as other government bodies, are involved in extinguishing the forest fire in the Abai region.

It said that measures were taken to prevent the spread of the forest fire to settlements, adding that helicopters were also involved to inspect the situation.

“Over the past day, a total of 546 water discharges were carried out with a volume of more than 1,500 tons. Since the beginning of the fire, more than 1,300 water discharges with a volume of about 4,000 tons have been carried out,” it added.

On Monday, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a day of national mourning in honor of the 14 firefighters who died attempting to extinguish the fire.

The wildfire erupted last week due to hot and dry weather conditions.