Story By: Feza Uzay, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency:  Newsflash

Two of the three firefighting planes sent from Russia to help battle the wildfire crisis ravaging the south of Turkey have been found to be faulty.

The Turkish authorities have been battling numerous wildfires in resort towns on the Turkish Riviera and other parts of the south since 28th July.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), 135 fires have broken out in Turkey in 2021, and 118,789 hectares (293,534.01 acres) of land have been destroyed.

Satellite images show the fires continuing to rage in areas such as Bodrum, Marmaris and Antalya.

A total of 18 aerial firefighting vehicles from Azerbaijan, Iran, Croatia, Spain, Ukraine, and Russia have provided support to Turkey’s 45 helicopters and three planes.

However, two of the three Beriev Be-200 planes sent from Russia have malfunctioned, according to reports.

While engineers continue to work on the faulty planes, the Russian authorities have yet to issue a statement on the incident.

Mustafa Ozkaya, Deputy General Director of Forestry, said: “We do not want to offend countries that want to support us in extinguishing the forest fires. It is not diplomatically correct to turn down requests for help.”

Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities suspect that a subgroup of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is responsible for the wildfires.

The Children of Fire Initiative, a subgroup of the PKK, has reportedly claimed responsibility for starting the fires.

In a statement, the group said the fires were in response to “the fascist Turks who invaded and exploited our country and pillaged our nature by burning it”.

President Erdogan also announced the arrest of a suspect accused of starting a fire in a local forest.

While visiting a local crisis centre, he said: “There is one detainee in Milas. If this is sabotage, we must punish those responsible.”