The death toll from wildfires in Kazakhstan’s northeastern region of Abai rose to 15 after the body of a tractor driver was discovered on June 13. The Interior Ministry said the man went missing on May 9 while he assisted forest rangers trying to extinguish a fire near the village of Qashtaq. On June 12, Kazakhstan mourned 14 forest rangers whose deaths were confirmed earlier. President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev replaced the emergency minister and officially reprimanded the region's governor, Nurlan Urankhaev, for their inadequate reaction to the wildfires that covered an area of some 60 hectares. To read the original story by KazTAG, click here.
Death Toll In Wildfires In Kazakhstan's Northeast Rises To 15
Smoke rises from wildfires above a forest belt in the eastern Abai region of Kazakhstan on June 12.