At least one person has been killed and 10 injured in a forest fire in the Kostanay region of northern Kazakhstan, the country’s Emergency Situations Ministry reported on September 4.
Emergency Situations Minister Yury Ilyin told journalists that rescue workers had recovered the body of an 86-year-old man in the settlement of Amankaragay. Ilyin said the man had refused to be evacuated.
Five locals and five workers assisting in the rescue have been treated for injuries, Ilyin added, with four of them still hospitalized.
The fire has burned more than 43,000 hectares. The ministry reported late on September 3 that some 9,400 hectares were still burning.
Some 1,800 people have been evacuated from nearby settlements. The fire, which started on September 2, has damaged more than 100 homes. Several hundred firefighters, dozens of firefighting vehicles, and helicopters were being used to control the blaze.
The operation has been hampered by high temperatures and blustery winds.