EU Sends Helicopters and Firefighters to Serbia to Tackle Wildfires

Reuters

]Residents watch as a helicopter drops water during a wildfire in Grebenac.

The European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism has deployed helicopters and firefighters to help Serbia tackle a major wildfire in a nature reserve in the country’s northeast, the head of the EU mission in Belgrade said on Saturday.

Serbia activated the mechanism on Friday after struggling for weeks to contain a wildfire in Deliblatska Pescara, a unique landscape of sand dunes and woodland located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the capital, Belgrade. The country is also battling several other wildfires in the southwest.

“We stand with Serbia in protecting lives, livelihoods and the unique natural heritage ⁠of Deliblatska Sands,” Andreas Beckerath, the head of the EU mission to Belgrade, wrote on X.

Luka Causic, the head of the Serbian Department for Emergencies, said that European aid consists of four Black Hawk firefighting helicopters from Romania, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, 55 firefighters and 24 vehicles from Germany, and 69 firefighters and 15 vehicles from Romania.

One helicopter from Romania and one from Slovakia joined firefighting efforts on Saturday, while two others from the Czech Republic will be engaged on Sunday, Serbia's Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Romanian firefighters and vehicles have also arrived in the town od Bela ‌Crkva, ⁠near the fire. A German team is expected to arrive on 24 August, it said.

Serbia is not a member of the EU but has access to emergency EU help under its Civil Protection Mechanism.

This summer, Belgrade sent a firefighting helicopter and emergency response team to help Spain combat wildfires after repeated blazes across Europe sapped ⁠EU resources.

A Russian Emergencies Ministry IL-76P firefighting plane landed in the southern Serbian city of Nis on Wednesday to tackle the Deliblatska Pescara wildfire, which has gutted thousands of hectares of pine forest since late July.

Causic ⁠said the situation was more stable on Saturday, but that strong winds were expected and the priority is to protect settlements and human lives.

'We've consistently proposed long-term partnerships, while America has often pursued short-term transactions.

Other major wildfires were also active in the rugged Stolovi ⁠mountain range in the southwest of the country.

In neighbouring North Macedonia, a major wildfire was raging in the municipality of Strumica, south of the capital Skopje. According to media reports, at least one house caught fire in the village of Sofilar.

Source: Reuters



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