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Flames fill the sky as Turkey's wildfires rage on

In Marmaris' Hisaronu district helicopters were dropping water on the flames ripping through trees and undergrowth.

In total, sixteen planes and 51 helicopters raced against time on Tuesday (August 3) to tackle the blazes in three coastal towns - Manavgat, Bodrum and Marmaris.

Drone footage also showed fierce wildfires blazing in several spots in Aegean coastal town of Marmaris on Tuesday (August 3) as firefighters used planes and helicopters to battle the blazes raging for a week southern resorts in drought-hit Turkey.

Orange flames and black smoke filled the skyline in Kizildag, a village in Turkey's Manavgat resort in the early hours, as firefighters desperately tried to contain a raging wildfire.

An eyewitness filmed firefighters on top vehicles spraying water on the blaze, surrounded by thick smoke.

The European Union said it had helped mobilize three fire-fighting planes on Sunday (August 1). One from Croatia and two from Spain joined teams from Russia, Iran, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan.

The heatwave exacerbating the fires comes after months of exceptionally dry weather in Turkey's southwest, according to maps issued by meteorological authorities.