Eco R Geo: Russian planes join firefighting effort in Indonesia

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Two Russian Beriev Be-200 amphibian aircraft arrived in Indonesia on Wednesday to participate in the international operation to extinguish wildfires on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, Russia’s embassy in Jakarta has said.

"Two planes of Russia’s Emergencies Ministry landed today in Palembang, the center of the South Sumatra province," the press attache of Russia’s embassy in Indonesia, Nikolay Karapetyan, told TASS.

Russian rescuers are expected to be involved in the operation for one month. The crew members have huge experience in combating fires.
Russia’s aircraft have been earlier used in Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and other countries.

The amphibious Be-200 multi-role aircraft can drop 12.5 tonnes of water at a time.

Indonesia has launched a major effort on fighting wildfires in the country’s history. The operation also involves the planes of Singapore.

The aircraft of Malaysia and Australia flew back home on Monday after completing five days of the firefighting effort.

The fires on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan have generated huge amounts of smoke affecting the territory of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
[tass.ru]
21/10/15
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