Military jets put out 90,000 hectares of fires in Siberia in 24 hours - Ministry

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Forces of the military aviation have extinguished more than 90,000 hectares of wildfires raging in the Siberian Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk Regions in 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement on Friday. "In 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry’s aviation put out wildfires in the Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk Regions on the territory exceeding 90,000 hectares," the ministry reported. The agency specified that the Ilyushin Il-76 strategic airlifters carried out 26 flights, dropping more than 1,000 tonnes of water on the wildfires ravaging forests. The Mil Mi-8 helicopters dropped about 550 tonnes of water, as well as performed reconnaissance missions. "The Defense Ministry created an aviation group in the Krasnoyarsk Region, which put out more than 60 large-scale forest fires in 24 hours," the ministry added. An aviation group made up of ten Ilyushin Il-76s and ten helicopters to extinguish wildfires. According to the latest data of the Russian Aerial Forest Protection Service, more than three million hectares of forests are ablaze. The Yakutia, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk Regions are affected the most. Read more