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| Wildfires force Turkey to shut Dardanelles Strait to shipping | Wildfires force Turkey to shut Dardanelles Strait to shipping |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Together with the Bosporus Strait, the Dardanelles serves as a key route for commercial shipping between Europe and Asia | Together with the Bosporus Strait, the Dardanelles serves as a key route for commercial shipping between Europe and Asia |
| The Dardanelles Strait has been temporarily shut to maritime traffic due to forest fires raging in north-western Turkey, the country's transport ministry has said. | |
| The major international waterway was shut as a precautionary measure, it said, as the blazes spread near the city of Canakkale, where a number of residents have been evacuated. | The major international waterway was shut as a precautionary measure, it said, as the blazes spread near the city of Canakkale, where a number of residents have been evacuated. |
| Turkish firefighters have been deployed to try to contain the fires. Specialist firefighting planes and helicopters are also in use. | Turkish firefighters have been deployed to try to contain the fires. Specialist firefighting planes and helicopters are also in use. |
| The Dardanelles links the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Together with the Bosporus Strait, it serves as a vital route for commercial shipping between Europe and Asia. | The Dardanelles links the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Together with the Bosporus Strait, it serves as a vital route for commercial shipping between Europe and Asia. |
| Some 46,000 vessels crossed the Dardanelles in 2024, according to official data. | |
| Local officials said strong winds and hot dry weather was intensifying the wildfires. Efforts to extinguish the fires from "both the air and ground" were ongoing, Canakkale's provincial governor - quoted in Turkiye Today - said on Friday. | |
| Canakkale's main airport is closed to passenger flights, but firefighting and search and rescue aircraft are still operating from there. |