MINSK, 28 August (BelTA) – A helicopter of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry dropped almost 1,000 tonnes of water on the forest fires in Georgia, BelTA learned from the ministry's official representative Vitaly Novitsky.
The Mi-26 helicopter of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry left the site near Georgia's Borjomi to fly to the Kutaisi airport in the morning of 28 August. The crew will then prepare the aircraft for the flight home. “A large forest fire was fully extinguished in the evening of 27 August. Foreign firefighters are now returning home. The Belarusian crew has dropped 975 tonnes of water. The Georgian government has expressed gratitude to Belarus for the assistance with natural disaster response,” Vitaly Novitsky remarked.
The forest fire in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park broke out on 20 August. Strong winds rapidly spread the fires all over the national park.
BelTA reported earlier that the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry sent a heavy Mi-26 helicopter to Georgia upon the president's instructions. Mi-26 is a heavy multipurpose transport helicopter, which boasts the world's largest carrying capacity. It is fitted with an external tank able to fight fires. The tank can hold up to 15 tonnes of water. Firefighting helicopters have been proven effective many times, particularly in rough terrain where water cannot be delivered by land transport.
