Hot-air balloons fly over Cappadocia, Turkey, on July 18, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

Dozens of people were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and several for burns as a forest fire ravaged several communities near a Mediterranean tourist resort in the south of Turkey on Wednesday, media reported.

Footage on social media and Turkish TV showed rescuers dumping fire retardant from helicopters on burning buildings and fields in and around the coastal town of Manavgat.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said "all necessary support will be given to citizens who have suffered from the fire," adding a cause investigation had been launched.

Turkish media reported 62 people, mainly local people overcome with smoke and three suffering from burns, were hospitalized.

Hundreds of forestry workers, aided by helicopters and a plane, tried to bring the fire under control. Local officials said four districts of the town had been evacuated and the fire was partially under control.

"It's an unbelievably bad sight," Manavgat mayor Sukru Sozen told CNN Turk.

NTV television said 20 buildings housing around 500 people had burned down in one part of the town.

"Thankfully, we have had no losses of life," Bocek told NTV television. Flames appeared to have erupted at four locations at once, he added.

AFP