Turkey’s wildfires did not damage the main units of the Kemerkoy coal-fired powerplant in the southwestern part of the country, President Tayyip Erdogan’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, said on Twitter on Thursday.

“The main units of the power station were not seriously damaged according to the initial examination following the evacuation of the facility,” Altun said.

People in the power station and nearby residential areas were evacuated via a navy landing ship as strong winds fanned the flames.

Environmentalists have said they were concerned about the impact if the fire spreads to the plant’s coal storage unit.

Eight people have been killed in a more than 150 wildfires which have erupted in the last week, the worst in the country’s history, President Erdogan said. Thousands of Turks and foreign tourists have been forced to flee homes and hotels near the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.

Reuters

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