Fires from electricity poles continue in Kurdistan. A fire broke out in the village of Serêkaniyê (Pınarbaşı) in Nusaybin district of Mardin this morning and spread to two other villages.

The fire, which could not be brought under control despite the intervention of fire brigades and villagers, threatens a large area including 14 villages.

Nusaybin Co-Mayor Gülbin Şahin Dağhan made a statement to the press and public regarding the latest situation with the fire.

Dağhan emphasised that although they informed the relevant units, they did not receive any serious feedback and underlined that if the fire spread to the mountainous area where it is impossible to reach by fire brigade and human intervention, a great disaster would occur.

The co-mayor stated the following:

“There is currently a fire in the forest area in the villages of Çalı, Pınarbaşı and Eskimağara in Nusaybin. We received information that the fire started from electric wires. We rushed to the scene and intervened on the spot. We tried to contact the district governor. We called the relevant units and AFAD (disaster unit). But since it was the morning hours, no one answered the phone. Our fire brigade teams intervened early, but since it is a mountainous region, they could not intervene in the upper parts. They could only intervene in the area close to the road. There are blowing vehicles for fire intervention in rural areas. Some of these were used by the fire brigade and some by the villagers. Efforts are being made to bring the fire under control in this way. However, the fire still continues. At the moment, it is not possible to control the fire with the fire brigade and manpower in terms of physical facilities. We demand that a helicopter be sent urgently.”