Turkish powerplant’s main units not damaged by wildfires, says govt

ISTANBUL: 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.