Chilling moment Turkey wildfire arson suspect fills bottles with PETROL as horror blazes kill 4 with ‘risky week' ahead
CCTV footage caught the
Advertisement
8
The man was seen getting out of a pickup truck at the gas station
Credit: CNN Turkey
8
He was seen getting out of his vehicle and pouring what looks like water into potted flowers
Credit: CNN Turkey
8
He then proceeds to the pump and fills the five-litre cans with gasoline before leaving the station
Credit: CNN Turkey
8
The clip shows a man, now identified by authorities as Ufuk Aytekin, arriving at a gas station in his pickup truck.
He is then seen getting out of his vehicle and pouring what looks like water into potted flowers.
He then proceeds to the pump and fills the five-litre cans with gasoline before leaving the station.
Bursa Provincial Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Branch later identified the suspect and arrested him on suspicion of starting a wildfire in the country that has been
Advertisement
read more on wildfires
He is now being investigated as it is alleged he sparked a fire in the village of Kışmanlar.
The suspect appeared to have burns on his arms and legs, and his phone was reportedly found burned in the woods by police.
Aytekin, who has a history of numerous crimes and said he was kicked out of his home by his
family
, confessed to starting the fire in his initial statement,
It comes as raging wildfires continue to rip through the country.
Advertisement
Most read in The US Sun
Firefighters battled blazes across Turkey on Monday as the country sweltered in a summer heatwave, with wildfires leading to at least 14 deaths in the country in the past week.
Around 20 villages have been evacuated, officials said. More than 3,500 people were forced to leave their
homes
.
Shock moment beachgoers surrounded by smoke as raging wildfires in Italian hols hotspot
Temperatures had already soared to a record high of 50.5 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country.
The heatwave has fueled the forest fires on the dry ground that have spread rapidly in windy conditions.
Advertisement
Authorities warned that a "risky week" lies ahead as temperatures continue to soar beyond record levels.
Their efforts were hampered by strong winds fanning the flames, according to Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli.
The flames have scorched 7,413 acres around the city so far, according to Bozbey.
Advertisement
At least 84 fires have been recorded nationwide over the past 24 hours, with major blazes still active in Bursa, Karabuk, Usak and Kahramanmaras.
In Karabuk,
New wildfires broke out on
Turkey
's Mediterranean coast on Friday, as the government declared two western provinces in the country to be "disaster zones".
East of Antalya, fires broke out in Adana and Mersin on Friday.
Advertisement
8
A wide-angle view shows smoke and flames rise as firefighting efforts continue after a forest fire
Credit: Getty
8
People look at burning trees during a wildfire in western Bursa province
Credit: Reuters
Images showed flames and smoke billowing into the
sky
close to high-rise apartment buildings in Antalya, where local and foreign visitors flock during the summer months.
Homes were evacuated in the city centre and the outlying district of Aksu as the fire advanced, news agency DHA reported.
Advertisement
Firefighters struggled to extinguish the blazes before strong winds could spread the fire, which closed a major coastal road.
Further along the coast, homes in the city of Manavgat were also threatened.
Local residents with hoses and buckets rushed to assist firefighters as water-dropping helicopters and planes also battled the flames.
Police water cannons and municipal water trucks were also enlisted in the firefighting efforts.
Advertisement
President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan
said on Friday that the country faced "a truly great disaster" after 25,000 people got involved in the emergency effort.
In a televised speech after a weekly cabinet meeting, he said 96 per cent of the fires were caused by human activity such as cigarette butts and picnic fires.
There were also a few cases of sabotage, he said.
8
Flames rise from a forested area in the Gursu district
Credit: GEtty
Advertisement
8
Homes have been engulfed by flames
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
5 hours ago
- Sunday World
Suspect in €94m laundering probe is extradited from the US
Garda's seven-year Operation Skein has led to more than 630 arrests The operation has involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement. Stock image: Getty The extradition from the US of a 44-year-old man who was remanded in custody in Dublin on Monday is the latest development in the gardaí's long-running Operation Skein. The operation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) has led to gardaí identifying 1,400 potential suspects involved in the theft and laundering of €94m. Gardaí said more than 630 people had been arrested as part of this operation and more than half of these had been charged with gangland offences as well as money laundering. In the latest case, the defendant – who has previous addresses in Clondalkin and Mallow, Co Cork – left Ireland for the states of Texas and Georgia in the US before being arrested by police ahead of his extradition to Ireland. The joint operation involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement. He left Ireland after a book of evidence was served on him at Blanchardstown District Court in December 2018. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear at Dublin Circuit Court in July 2020 and an extradition warrant was later put in place, with investigations establishing he was living in the US. The defendant is charged with possessing €23,625, the proceeds of criminal conduct, and did not apply for bail at yesterday's brief court hearing in Dublin Circuit Court. The offence is alleged to have taken place at an unknown location within the Dublin Metropolitan District in March 2017 and allegedly concerns business email compromise fraud, known as BEC. According to the latest data obtained by the Irish Independent, out of the 1,400 suspects identified by Operation Skein, many used false identity documents to set up bank accounts. The majority of the suspects have been Irish and Nigerian nationals, but a significant number of Italian, British, Portuguese and Romanian nationals have also been identified. Of the 630 people arrested, 110 were arrested for organised-crime offences, with the rest being detained under money-laundering legislation. Around 70 of the suspects who have been arrested were juveniles and have been dealt with under the Garda Youth Diversion Programme and dealt with by special garda juvenile liaison officers (JLOs). To date, 24 of the suspects arrested for gangland-style offences have been charged before the courts and eight of these have pleaded guilty, with most receiving jail sentences. Dozens of money mules have mostly received suspended sentences after being convicted. Gardaí said in a statement that arrests had been made all over Ireland as part of the operation, which has been ongoing for seven years. There has been multiple extraditions from a wide variety of mostly EU countries as part of the investigation but the extradition of the 44-year-old is the first time a defendant has been brought back from the United States. Many international police forces have visited Ireland to study gardaí's pro-active approach to following the money trail and senior GNECB detectives have also travelled abroad to advise their counterparts. The operation has involved gardaí, Interpol and US law enforcement. Stock image: Getty News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, July 29
The Irish Sun
7 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Moment brazen ‘terrorist' arsonist sparks wildfires as deadly blazes spread across Europe hitting MORE holiday hotspots
THIS is the moment a brazen arsonist starts a terrifying wildfire by fanning the flames to help them spread faster. Hundreds of dangerous and deadly fires have plagued Europe in recent weeks with dozens of holiday hotspots left ravaged. Advertisement 19 The brazen moment an arsonist starts a terrifying wildfire in Bulgaria Credit: X 19 The man, who has now been charged with terrorism, fanned the flames to make them spread faster Credit: X 19 The Bulgarian village of Ponor, near Sofia, has been widely scorched in recent days Credit: AFP 19 Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire in Ourense, Spain Credit: EPA Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Italy and Bulgaria are all still reeling from the deadly fires crashing along the Mediterranean. Shocking CCTV footage from a quiet road in Bulgaria has now revealed the moment one of the 160 fires battering the country started. A 33-year-old man can be seen setting fire to several patches of grass which sit next to a pavement as he and his friend walk past. He casually walks off pretending nothing has happened as the flames begin to grow higher. Advertisement Moments later, he returns and can be seen trying to fan the flames with his hands so they spread quicker up the hill. Authorities have managed to track down the arsonist and charged him with terrorism. Several other people have been arrested over similar offences in recent days. Sabotage has become a rife issue in southern Europe since a heatwave hit earlier this month. Advertisement Most read in The Sun Latest In Bulgaria alone, around 90 per cent of the blazes have been caused by human error and negligence, according to Miroslav Rashkov, the head of the interior ministry. Footage has already caught several suspects across the continent. Shock moment beachgoers surrounded by smoke as raging wildfires in Italian hols hotspot CCTV in Turkey caught a man suspiciously carrying bottles filled with water before emptying them and refilling them with petrol at a gas station. The suspect was later found by police with burns on his arms and legs after a fire in the village of Kismanlar. Advertisement President He announced in a live TV broadcast: "Let us not forget that this is a war, a defence of our green homeland, against this insidious enemy." Spain and Portugal Brits have been put on high alert over wildfires tearing through the popular holiday island of Tenerife in Spain . A fire sparked in the north and has continued to spread towards busy resorts in Santiago del Teide in recent hours. Advertisement Locals have already been ordered to evacuate in the Valle de Arriba area with around 50 homes told to leave. Tenerife has been on red alert for the high risk of forest fires after the soaring temperatures hit 36 degrees. The first fire started at around 2pm on Monday. 19 Authorities in Galicia have reported around 50 hectares being impacted by the blaze Credit: EPA Advertisement 19 The Brit holiday hotspot of Tenerife was hit by the island's first major blaze of the summer on Monday Credit: x 19 Ponte da Barca in Portugal has also been hit by wildfires Credit: X Initial reports indicated that the fire was located in the area known as Partidos de Franquis - a rural site near San José de Los Llanos in El Tanque. A major operation was launched to control the fire, both by land and air, with police, firefighters, island government teams, the Civil Guard, helicopters and water-spraying planes all involved. Advertisement President of Tenerife's government, Rosa Davila said conditions were "complicated" due to the extreme heat and high winds. The Iberian Peninsula is also bracing for further issues in the coming days. Four Spanish planes joined more than 250 Portuguese firefighters battling a mountain blaze in Viana do Castelo district on the Portuguese-Spanish border. The flames were spreading in two directions and were being pulled around by strong winds, civil protection chief Marco Domingues said. Advertisement Large swaths of northern and southern Portugal are now on the highest alert for wildfires. Turkey The most deadly of the European fires have come from Turkey . At least 17 people have been killed in the apocalyptic wildfires as record-breaking 50C heat and howling winds fuel devastation across the eastern Mediterranean. The infernos have forced more than 3,500 residents to flee their homes, with vast swathes of forest reduced to ash. Advertisement Ten rescue volunteers and forestry workers lost their lives in a blaze in Eskisehir last week, while four more died outside Bursa over the weekend. Two volunteer firefighters succumbed to injuries after being pulled from an overturned water tanker. 19 Ten rescue volunteers and forestry workers lost their lives in a blaze in Eskisehir Credit: Getty 19 A terrifying trail of flames seen in a forested area in Bursa, Turkey Credit: Getty Advertisement 19 Another worker died at the scene and a firefighter suffered a fatal heart attack on Sunday. Turkey's forestry minister Ibrahim Yumakli confirmed that crews battled at least 44 separate fires on Sunday alone, declaring the western provinces of Izmir and Bilecik disaster areas. Firefighters have battled more than 600 blazes in the past week, with over 1,900 emergency responders drafted in to help save trapped residents. Advertisement According to forecasts, the temperatures will remain fiery this week with 45C to 50C heat expected in southeast Turkey. Greece Holidaymakers are also being urged to take caution when travelling in Greece this month. A week-long heatwave peaking at 45C has sparked multiple wildfires, forcing mass evacuations near Athens and across the islands of Crete and Evia. A huge blaze scorched a northern suburb of the Greek capital over the weekend, with 115 firefighters and 24 vehicles deployed on Evia, backed by six planes and seven helicopters. Advertisement Some 1,500 people were 19 Smoke and flame rise as firefighting teams respond from the air and on the ground to a forest fire that broke out in Krioneri near Athens Credit: Getty 19 Firefighters try to extinguish flames as a wildfire burns on the island of Kythira, Greece Credit: Reuters 19 Thousands of civilians have been evacuated due to the fires Credit: Getty Advertisement The night sky turned orange as the burning blazes left a trail of destruction on the popular island. Evacuations were ordered at three sites outside the port of Ierapetra on the island's south coast, authorities said. Homes were reportedly damaged as flames swept through hillside forests, fanned by strong winds. Wildfires, many of them destructive, Advertisement Greece sits n an area dubbed "a wildfire hotspot", with blazes common during hot and dry summers. Cyprus Meanwhile, Cyprus is still battling what officials have branded its worst wildfires "for 50 years". A massive wildfire killed two people as it ripped through forests outside Cyprus's second city of Limassol. With temperatures soaring to 44C, dozens of homes have been destroyed in the Troodos mountains. Advertisement Brit couple 19 The wildfire-burned land in the mountain of Limassol at Souni village in Limassol, Cyprus Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 19 Smoke fills the air as a forest fire rages near the Cypriot village of Omodos Credit: AFP 19 Advertisement Ben told The Sun: 'We lost everything that day, there's nothing left. 'We had fish tanks in the house and there was absolutely nothing left of what was in the water except melted glass on the floor.' Two people were found dead in a burnt-out car as more than 70 houses were reduced to rubble. Italy Meanwhile, in Sardinia, Italy, tourists were sent running for their lives when flames ripped right down to the beach at Punta Molentis on the island's southeast coast. Advertisement Sunbathers abandoned their towels and spades as thick black smoke engulfed the shoreline. The coast guard evacuated 102 people by sea, while helicopters hovered overhead during the dramatic operation. Some 200 cars and a kiosk were torched as the blaze tore through the Sarrabus area — described by local media as a 'jewel' now reduced to cinders. Read more on the Irish Sun Footage showed burnt-out vehicles after flames ravaged the parking area, leaving many stranded. Advertisement Fire crews deployed two Canadair firefighting planes, a helicopter, regional aircraft, and even an Italian Air Force vehicle to contain the inferno as winds fanned the flames. 19 The recent fires ravaged the provinces of Palermo and Trapani Credit: Splash 19 Residential areas in between the town of Grisi, near the city of Palermo on the island of Sicily, were badly affected Credit: Getty 19 Advertisement
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Chilling moment Turkey wildfire arson suspect fills bottles with PETROL as horror blazes kill 4 with ‘risky week' ahead
THIS is the chilling moment a man who allegedly sparked a devastating wildfire in Turkey was seen filling bottles with petrol at a gas station. CCTV footage caught the Advertisement 8 The man was seen getting out of a pickup truck at the gas station Credit: CNN Turkey 8 He was seen getting out of his vehicle and pouring what looks like water into potted flowers Credit: CNN Turkey 8 He then proceeds to the pump and fills the five-litre cans with gasoline before leaving the station Credit: CNN Turkey 8 The clip shows a man, now identified by authorities as Ufuk Aytekin, arriving at a gas station in his pickup truck. He is then seen getting out of his vehicle and pouring what looks like water into potted flowers. He then proceeds to the pump and fills the five-litre cans with gasoline before leaving the station. Bursa Provincial Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Branch later identified the suspect and arrested him on suspicion of starting a wildfire in the country that has been Advertisement read more on wildfires He is now being investigated as it is alleged he sparked a fire in the village of Kışmanlar. The suspect appeared to have burns on his arms and legs, and his phone was reportedly found burned in the woods by police. Aytekin, who has a history of numerous crimes and said he was kicked out of his home by his family , confessed to starting the fire in his initial statement, It comes as raging wildfires continue to rip through the country. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Firefighters battled blazes across Turkey on Monday as the country sweltered in a summer heatwave, with wildfires leading to at least 14 deaths in the country in the past week. Around 20 villages have been evacuated, officials said. More than 3,500 people were forced to leave their homes . Shock moment beachgoers surrounded by smoke as raging wildfires in Italian hols hotspot Temperatures had already soared to a record high of 50.5 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. The heatwave has fueled the forest fires on the dry ground that have spread rapidly in windy conditions. Advertisement Authorities warned that a "risky week" lies ahead as temperatures continue to soar beyond record levels. Their efforts were hampered by strong winds fanning the flames, according to Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli. The flames have scorched 7,413 acres around the city so far, according to Bozbey. Advertisement At least 84 fires have been recorded nationwide over the past 24 hours, with major blazes still active in Bursa, Karabuk, Usak and Kahramanmaras. In Karabuk, New wildfires broke out on Turkey 's Mediterranean coast on Friday, as the government declared two western provinces in the country to be "disaster zones". East of Antalya, fires broke out in Adana and Mersin on Friday. Advertisement 8 A wide-angle view shows smoke and flames rise as firefighting efforts continue after a forest fire Credit: Getty 8 People look at burning trees during a wildfire in western Bursa province Credit: Reuters Images showed flames and smoke billowing into the sky close to high-rise apartment buildings in Antalya, where local and foreign visitors flock during the summer months. Homes were evacuated in the city centre and the outlying district of Aksu as the fire advanced, news agency DHA reported. Advertisement Firefighters struggled to extinguish the blazes before strong winds could spread the fire, which closed a major coastal road. Further along the coast, homes in the city of Manavgat were also threatened. Local residents with hoses and buckets rushed to assist firefighters as water-dropping helicopters and planes also battled the flames. Police water cannons and municipal water trucks were also enlisted in the firefighting efforts. Advertisement President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that the country faced "a truly great disaster" after 25,000 people got involved in the emergency effort. In a televised speech after a weekly cabinet meeting, he said 96 per cent of the fires were caused by human activity such as cigarette butts and picnic fires. There were also a few cases of sabotage, he said. 8 Flames rise from a forested area in the Gursu district Credit: GEtty Advertisement 8 Homes have been engulfed by flames
