Forestry department sends firefighting planes to North Macedonia
The forestry department on Wednesday announced that it had dispatched two firefighting planes to North Macedonia to assist with forest fires in the areas of Chashka and Sveti Nikole.
The request came from the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre. More specifically, after consultations with Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou, the forestry department sent two Air Tractor planes, four crew members and five ground support staff.
The planes departed at 10.15am from Paphos airport, heading to Skopje international airport with a refuelling stop in Rhodes.
They are expected to arrive in North Macedonia at around 5pm where staff members will receive briefings and details for their mission, which will start on Thursday. The mission is set to last for five days.
The planes are equipped with suitable gear for refuelling and foam use and have telecommunications equipment for communication with the air unit in Larnaca and for transmitting information and photographic material.
These aircraft have been part of the rescEU mechanism since June. Under the mechanism, member states are funded to enhance their disaster response resources, with the commitment to assist other states when needed. This is their first mission.