Bitter Balance Sheet in Eskisehir Fire: 10 Casualties, Condolences and Reaction from Trade Unions

Eskişehir - The forest fire in Seyitgazi district of Eskişehir, which has been raging for days and has been difficult to bring under control, has turned into a tragedy that has left Turkey in mourning. While a total of 10 people, including 5 forest workers and 5 AKUT volunteers, lost their lives in the flames during the fire extinguishing efforts, unions and non-governmental organizations published condolence messages and reacted to this great pain.

Petrol-Is Union, in a message signed by General President Süleyman Akyüz on behalf of the Central Executive Board, wished God's mercy to the 10 workers who lost their lives, condolences and patience to their families and loved ones, and a speedy recovery to the injured citizens. Akyuz said, "I am sorry for the loss of our nation's head."

Identities of Martyrs Announced, Turkey Mourns

The names of the 10 heroes who lost their lives in the forest fire in Eskişehir Seyitgazi were shared with the public in a statement made by the Disig Assembly (@isigmeclisi): Hilmi Şahin, Sercan Utni, Tolunay Kocaman, Eyip Dereli, Enes Kızılyel, Muharrem Can, İlker Onarıcı, Tekin Enes Sarıyıldız, Bayram Eren Arslan and Alperen Özcan. These names will be remembered as heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect the green homeland.

Turkish Deniz-İş Union (@turkdenizis) also published a message wishing mercy to the martyrs and condolences to their grieving families, relatives and our nation. The union also wished a speedy recovery to the 14 injured heroes and shared its solidarity with all the teams working selflessly to fight the fire.

Harsh Reaction from DISK: "This Disaster is Not Destiny!"

The Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DİSK) (@diskinsesi), in a statement on the tragic incident, drew attention to the inadequacies in the fight against the fire. "Workers are paying with their lives for the lack of advanced technology investments for extinguishing the fires and the lack of worker health and safety measures. Forest fires every summer are not fate, but a deliberate disaster," the Confederation said, criticizing the lack of adequate preparations and leaving laborers to face risks under harsh conditions. The Confederation expressed its condolences to the families of the workers and volunteers who lost their lives.

KESK Demands On-Site Inspection and Transparency

The Confederation of Public Employees' Trade Unions (KESK) (@KESK1995) took swift action following the fire. The KESK delegation, accompanied by KESK Co-Chair Ahmet Karagöz, met with Director of Forestry Doğan Kiraz at the Eskişehir Regional Directorate of Forestry and were informed about the latest developments regarding the fire and conveyed their condolences and get well soon wishes.

After the visit, the KESK delegation and members of the KESK Eskişehir Branches Platform moved to the site to inspect the area where the fire occurred. The KESK delegation, which will also visit the hospitalized citizens who were injured in the fire, reiterated the following important demand in its statement: "From Eskişehir, he reiterated his demand for a country where poor working people, workers and laborers do not lose their lives in natural disasters; where those responsible are prosecuted, judicial processes are carried out transparently and the public is fully informed."

This tragedy has once again brought the shortcomings in the fight against forest fires, the weaknesses in worker health and safety, and the awareness of responsibility in natural disasters to the national agenda. Turkey remembers the heroes who lost their lives in the fire with gratitude.