Russesch Touristen verhaft an der Tierkei fir Antalya Bëschbränn ugefaangen

• Wildfire may have been started by Russian tourists who were hiking along the popular trail.
• Russian tourists were detained during the pre-trial investigation of the circumstances of the incident.
• Turkish firefighters were pushed to the limits while battling this year’s summer wildfires.

On Monday, Turkish police detained a group of Russian tourists in ANTALYA, after a wildfire was reported in a densely wooded area in the countryside.

According to local law enforcement, seven Russian nationals are suspected of unintentionally starting wildfires that broke out near a popular tourist destination.

Local authorities in the area of Çağlarca claim the Saturday fire may have been started by a campfire set up by the group of Russian tourists that were hiking along the popular Lycian Way trail.

According to a spokesperson of the Russian diplomatic mission in ANTALYA, the court made a decision to detain Russian tourists during the pre-trial investigation of the circumstances of the incident.

Another six people were also arrested in Tierkei in August, on suspicion of setting fire to forest areas, this time on charges of arson. The police had actually to step in to protect the suspects, who were already being chased by angry locals.

Another three people were previously arrested in Bodrum after the police claimed they had been caught throwing lit cigarette butts out of a car window while driving along a stretch of dry forest.

Turkish firefighters were pushed to the limits over the summer battling wildfires, many of them threatening popular tourist destinations around Antalya and Mugla.

Ëm 107 Tierkei fires required emergency measures by the firefighters. Hundreds of people were injured due to the spreading blazes and thousands were evacuated from their homes.