Russian Planes to Help Battle Forest Fire

Russia is ready to send a fire-fighting plane and helicopter to Georgia to help battle a forest fire that has been raging since August 15 in the southern Georgian district of Adigeni.

According to reports, the fire has already swept across 500 hectares of forest.

The Russian Emergency Ministry agreed to send an Ilyushin-76 plane and Mi-26 helicopter, which carry 42 and 15 tones of water respectively, following a request for assistance from the Georgian government, Itar-Tass news agency reported. The aircraft are set to arrive in Georgia on August 17.

Turkish fire-fighting planes have already been involved in battling the largest forest fire in Georgia in past 20 years.
 
Hot weather is blamed as the cause of the forest fire, as temperatures reach up to 40 degrees Celsius across the country.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)