Turkey has launched an international appeal for help in taming fires raging across the country that have killed eight people in recent days, as what has been described as one of the worst heatwaves in decades intensifies in southeast Europe.

Following criticism of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, after it emerged that Turkey has no firefighting planes, authorities in Istanbul were promised water-dropping planes from the European Union. The country is battling deadly wildfires along its coastline for the sixth day.

Nearly 95,000 hectares have been devastated by the flames so far this year, compared with an average of 13,516 at the same point in the years from 2008 to 2020. Turkey’s defense ministry released satellite images showing the extent of the damage, with forest areas turned black and smoke still visible.