Russian plane extinguishes major wildfire hotspots in Serbia

MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. Il-76 plane of the Russian emergencies ministry has extinguished major wildfire hotspots in in Serbia’s Deliblato Sands nature reserve and in the mountainous area near the city of Kraljevo, the Russian emergencies ministry said.

"The Russian emergencies ministry’s aircraft have put out major fire hotspots in Serbia. Today, the ministry’s Il-76 plane successfully extinguished hotspots in the Deliblato Sands nature reserve and in the mountainous area near the city of Kraljevo. During the day, the plane performed four flights and dropped 168 tons of water," it said.

According to the ministry, over the four days of participating in firefighting operations, the aircraft has performed 19 flights and dropped an overall of 798 tons of water. "The aircraft crew’s work makes a significant contribution to the stabilization of the wildfire situation," it said.

Amid the difficult situation with wildfires, Serbia has asked Moscow to help. A Russian emergencies ministry’s special aircraft arrive in Nis, where the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center is located, on August 19 and joined firefighting operations on the following day.

Serbia’s most severe fire had been raging in the Deliblato Sands national reserve in the country’s northeast since early August. The natural reserve has been listed on the official UNESCO Tentative (Preliminary) List.