Fire fighting month: Il-76 EMERCOM completed work in Serbia

Russian rescuers have completed work to extinguish natural fires in Serbia. The crew of the Il-76 Russian Emergencies Ministry returns home after almost a month of operation. This is reported by the press service of the EMERCOM of Russia.

Russian aviation began to help Serbian services on August 20. During this time, the IL-76 performed 65 sorties and 130 water discharges on fires. The total volume of discharged liquid amounted to 2.7 thousand tons.

The most difficult work took place in the area of the Deliblatsky Sands Reserve, as well as on Mount Stolovi and near Lukovo. Russian specialists worked together with Serbian firefighters and rescuers. The IL-76 is capable of delivering up to 42 tons of water to the hearth in one discharge.

In the first day of the operation, the Russian aircraft made five sorties and ten discharges, sending 210 tons of water to the hearths. At that time, the space monitoring of the Ministry of Emergency Situations recorded 22 thermopoints in Serbia, and some fires were near settlements.

On September 17, the Serbian side presented the Il-76 crew with a badge of distinction for their work in extinguishing large-scale natural fires. Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic noted the contribution of Russian rescuers and said that thanks to the actions of the crew several times managed to protect houses from fire. According to him, during the fires in Serbia there were no human casualties and residential buildings did not burn down.

The work of the Russian crew was completed after the localization of the most difficult foci. Rescuers are returning to Russia.