‘Miracle’ goat born from flames during forest fires in southern Turkey

ANTALYA, Turkey

A baby goat that was born in massive flames in Turkey's southern Antalya province has been named Miracle.

Sercan Bayat returned to his farm hours after he was evacuated because of forest fires to find a baby goat among perished farm animals in the burned woodland in Manavgat district.

He said fires reached his village right after they began.

After gendarmerie forces urged villagers to evacuate, Bayat risked his life to let his animals loose to take them to an open area.

“Our animals are dearer to us than anything else. I could not leave them behind,” he said. “When everything went up in flames, I cut my cows loose to take them to an open area and led my goats away from the fire.”

“There were burns on my hands and feet. Meanwhile, I lost some of my animals. My pregnant cows, goats lost their lives,” he said, noting that villagers watched their houses burn.

“We returned home three to four hours after our village burned down. I saw the baby goat on the burnt soil in front of the house. It was like a miracle,” he Bayat.

“I could not understand how it was born, how it survived. It became our only solace in all the trouble,” he said.

* Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara