Kazakhstan: 14 people killed, 60,000 hecatres destroyed in wildfire; Day of National Mourning declared

作者: The AsiaN Editor on 12 June , 2023.
类别: All, Asia, News, People, Society
标签: Kazakhstan, Mourning, Toqayev

The 14 victims of the wildfire in Kazakhstan (Kazakh embassy in Belgium)

ASTANA: Kazakhstan has declared June 12 a Day of National Mourning after 14 forestery workers died in the devastating wildfire in the Semei Ormany Nature Reserve.

On Sunday, Kazakhstan President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev visited the area affected by the forest fire that broke out in a nature reserve in the region of Abai, in the east of the Central Asian country.

Toqayev met in Abai with the families of the deceased, all of them forestry workers, and offered his condolences to the families of the forestry workers, aged between 25 and 63.

He told them that he shared their grief and that their death was a great tragedy for the entire nation.

“I came here specially to offer my condolences to you”, Toqayev was quoted as saying.

“This is a great tragedy for the entire nation. Be strong during these hard times. I share your grief of loss. I have tasked the Government to provide you with all possible support, be it financial or any other assistance,” he added.

“This Monday will be declared the Day of National Mourning. We will together mourn and remember the names of the victims. I am asking you to be strong and keep calm. Appropriate measures will be taken in all areas, be it law enforcement agencies or ministries.”

Due to the wildfire,Toqayev postponed an official visit to Vietnam set for June 11-13.

Kazakhstan Ministry of Defence Twitter

The fire broke out on June 8 in the Batpayev forestry covering some 0.3 hectares. However, as the fire engulfed more than 60,000 hectares, morer resources and rescuers from three regions were deployed and 316 people were evacuated to temporary shelters, Kazinform reported.