European Union sends additional help to Serbia in the fight against the big ones forest fires, and four helicopters and ground firefighting teams from several European countries were engaged through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
The European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Hadja Labib, announced that helicopters from the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia, as well as ground crews from Germany and Romania, were made available to Serbia.
"This is EU solidarity in action," Labib wrote on social network X.
Romanian firefighters headed for Serbia
Romania has already launched its ground intervention unit, which consists of firefighters and specialized equipment for extinguishing fires in open space and in forests.
According to the data of the Romanian Department for Emergency Situations, the team has 69 members and has 15 technical means. Firefighters come from the districts of Arad, Bihor, Brasov, Hunedoara, Jalomica, Salaz, Sibiu, Timis and Valca.
The unit left for Serbia by road, and will be deployed in locations determined by the Serbian authorities. Romanian firefighters will participate in extinguishing the fire together with local teams.
At the same time, the Romanian Black Hawk S-70M helicopter arrived in Serbia and will join the operation.
International aid was activated after Serbia sent a request through the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union, bearing in mind the large fires that engulfed several areas of the country. Among the most severely affected areas is Deliblatska peščara, where the fire engulfed around 3.500 hectares.
The Russian Ilyushin made 10 sorties in two days
In addition to help from the countries of the European Union, Russia was also engaged in extinguishing the fire in Deliblatska peščara.
The Embassy of Russia in Serbia announced that the Russian plane "Ilyushin IL-76" carried out a total of 10 sorties in the area of the fire on August 20 and 21.
According to the embassy, during those operations, a total of 420 tons of water was dumped on the fire.
"The work of the Russian crew shows high efficiency. According to the ministry's announcement, the Russians managed to save about 50 buildings from the fire, localizing large fires, which made it possible to prevent the fire from spreading in the direction of populated areas," stated the Embassy of Russia in Serbia.
It is added that the operation is being carried out in cooperation with Serbian firefighting units and Russian Ka-32 helicopters.
The Russian Ilyushin IL-76 of the Ministry of Civil Protection, Emergency Situations and Elimination of the Consequences of Natural Disasters of the Russian Federation has been engaged in Serbia since August 19, when it landed at "Konstantin Veliki" airport in Nis.
International teams are gradually getting involved in the fight against fires that have engulfed several parts of Serbia in recent days, while domestic services continue to engage available capacities at the most critical fire sites.
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