Turkish firefighters have managed to extinguish the fire that broke out last Monday in the port of Alexandreta following the strong earthquakes that shook the area, leaving more than 11,500 dead in Turkey and Syria.
«The fire in the port of Alexandreta in Hatay province has been extinguished. Work is now continuing to cool the fire area,» Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu confirmed on Twitter.
The fire at the port facilities, located in the far south of Turkey, has required intense work by firefighters to quell flames that have left hundreds of containers of goods on fire.
The province of Hatay is close to Kahramanmaras, the province most affected by the earthquakes. Most of the affected containers had not been unloaded, Turkish news agency Anatolia reported during the week.
While the cause of the fire is unknown, many of the containers overturned after the first earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale. A large plume of smoke was still visible over the port on Tuesday.
The port, one of Turkey’s largest in the eastern Mediterranean area, has been out of operation since Monday.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
