Turkish minister escapes fire blast (VIDEO)

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca escaped injury after embers exploded from a fire as he was inspecting rescue efforts in the southern province of Hatay, which was badly hit by the devastating recent earthquakes.

According to Turkish media, the incident occurred early Thursday morning when the official was speaking to doctors at a field hospital.

The group had lit a fire to keep warm, although the embers suddenly burst into the air, shooting out flames and hot residue. Koca and others quickly jumped to safety.

Journalist Adem Metan, who shared a video of the incident, said Koca’s team had informed him that the minister was unharmed.

More than 36,000 people were killed and over 108,000 injured across multiple Turkish provinces when 7.6 and 7.7 magnitude earthquakes struck on February 6. In neighboring Syria, the disaster claimed more than 5,500 lives.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the tragedy as “the disaster of the century.”