Tuesday, August 15 2017 10:59

ArmInfo. Early in the morning on August 15, the Minister of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Armenia David Tonoyan together with Russian specialists made a  reconnaissance flight, during which foci of fires were identified  with the aim of their localization, the RA Ministry of Emergency  Situations press service reported.According to the source, the plane  EMERCOM of Russia IL-76 today at 08.50 performed the first flight. It  is envisaged to make 2 sorties to extinguish fires that have  enveloped a number of regions of Armenia. 

The IL-76 special bureau of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia  arrived in Armenia at 19.20 to participate in an operation to  extinguish fires that took unprecedented proportions in the mountains  of Armenia. The request for assistance was sent by the leadership of  the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia to its Russian  counterparts. According to some reports, about 700 hectares of  juniper woodlands in the Vayotsor region are now burning near the  territory of the Artavan village and over 1000 hectares of forest in  the Khosrov Reserve. The fires began on August 10 and, due to the hot  weather and winds, began to spread rapidly over difficult terrain.  Attempts to cope with the fire by the Armenian Ministry of Emergency  Situations, due to very limited technical capabilities, have not yet  been crowned with success.  For one call of IL-76, EMERCOM of Russia  can drop more than 42 tons of water into fires, and also create a  barrier strip 800 meters long and 60 meters wide, with an area of  about 50,000 square meters. 

The IL-76 is considered one of the largest fire fighting aircraft in  the world. The crew of the IL-76 EMERCOM of Russia is prepared for  work in difficult conditions and has extensive experience in  extinguishing wildfires, has repeatedly participated in the  liquidation of emergencies in the territory of the Russian Federation  and abroad.