Ukraine sends fire-fighting planes to Turkey to extinguish forest fires

Ukraine sends fire-fighting planes of the State Emergency Service to Turkey to extinguish large-scale forest fires.

The SES reported this.

On July 30, two fire planes of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine flew to Turkey to extinguish forest fires that broke out on July 28 near the town of Manavgat in Antalya province and spread to the provinces of Osmaniye, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Adana, Mersin, and Mugla.

Currently, the total area of ​​fires is more than 1,500 hectares. As a result of the emergency, 4 people died and 183 were injured, 58 of them were hospitalized. The fire damaged more than 100 private homes and buildings. Rescue services have taken control of 36 forest fires, and the firefighting of 20 fires continues.

"To assist Turkish firefighters, under the Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2020 between the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (AFAD) on cooperation in disaster prevention and emergency response. As a result, Ukraine is sending two crews of An-32P fire planes with a support group," the SES said.

It is noted that these are experienced professionals who already have experience in mountainous areas and have been involved in the elimination of large-scale fires in Montenegro, Israel, and Georgia.

As of July 30, more than 4,000 people, 457 units of equipment, and 35 aircraft are involved in extinguishing fires in Turkey, which is complicated by strong winds and hot weather.

On July 29, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly announced that Ukraine would provide all necessary assistance to Turkey in connection with large-scale fires.