Turkish jets douse off fire at earthquake-hit Iskenderun port

Turkish jets have extinguished a major fire that broke out at the internationaI Iskenderun Port in southern province of Hatay, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said on Twitter that the blaze was put out by military helicopters and aircraft on Tuesday.

It also shared a footage of the efforts to tackle the fire that started following major earthquakes that hit southern provinces of the country.

Hundreds of shipping containers were ablaze at the Iskenderun Port, sending thick black smoke into the sky and shutting down operations, forcing freight liners to divert vessels to other ports.

READ MORE: Türkiye's powerful quakes move Anatolian continent by up to 10 metres

Operations halted 

The blaze led to the shutdown of all operations at the terminal until further notice and forced freight liners to divert vessels to other ports.

A 7.7-magnitude tremor struck the Pazarcik district of Kahramanmaras province early Monday. Nine hours later, a 7.6-magnitude quake, centered in Kahramanmaras’s Elbistan district, rocked the region, affecting Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa provinces.

The earthquake was also felt in countries in the region, including Lebanon and Syria.

READ MORE: Massive rescue effort in Türkiye, Syria as death toll mounts