Serbia has activated the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union in order to obtain international assistance in extinguishing fires, said the head of the Sector for Emergency Situations, Luka Čaušić, at a conference in the Čardak picnic area in Deliblato Sands.
He said that the Headquarters for Emergency Situations decided to request international assistance from the European Union, i.e. the Civil Protection Mechanism.
"We were looking for planes with a carrying capacity of over ten tons, five helicopters with over four tons of water, ten special vehicles that could eventually move on sand," said Čaušić.
This statement came after the European Commission for N1 Serbia today said that Serbia did not activate the same Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union in order to get help in extinguishing forest fires. An additional problem arose after the Bulgarian public became concerned about the security situation in the country, because the Russian "Ilyushin" can also be used for military purposes.
Call them, but they don't need it.
As soon as he said that they had called the Europeans, Čaušić stated that in the European Civil Protection Mechanism, Serbia was mainly offered canards and air tractors, but that these were planes that could not be refueled in close proximity, i.e. rivers, because they have to be filled with water at the airport.
"They told us you can count on two canards from Greece, which cannot be charged at the airport. Two air tractors from Cyprus and two air tractors stationed in North Macedonia. When you let the air tractors charge for two or three hours - that's a drop in the ocean and not expedient at that moment," explains Čaušić.
The situation is unpredictable in the sandbox
Source: FoNetFire in Deliblatska peščara; Source: FoNet
The Head of the Department for Emergency Situations stated that the residents of all settlements in Deliblatska peščara are currently safe, but that the situation is changing rapidly.
"The situation changes so quickly and the wind changes direction so quickly, that in 40 minutes a new situation can arise on the field," said Čaušić and added that there are 395 members of all services on the field.
He also stated that today in Deliblatska Peščara is somewhat calmer compared to yesterday, which was the most intense day and pointed out that with superhuman efforts they managed to defend the houses.
"Last night around 23 p.m., the situation escalated towards the Šušara settlement. That settlement was temporarily evacuated, but with the superhuman efforts of members of the Emergency Situations Sector and the 72nd Brigade of the Serbian Army, the fire was stopped," said Čaušić.
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