ArmInfo.The IL-76 special bunker of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia, who arrived in Armenia yesterday to participate in an operation to extinguish a fire in the Khosrov Reserve, is already preparing for the third flight. According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of RA, at the moment a group of Armenian and Russian specialists carries out a reconnaissance flight over the territory of the Khosrov Reserve in order to assess the results of the first two sorties.
"The plane of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the TF Il-76 is refueling with water at the Yerevan airport" Erebuni "is preparing for the third sortie," the agency reports.
The plane of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia IL-76 today at 08.50 fulfilled the first flight. It was envisaged to make 2 sorties to extinguish fires that swept a number of regions of Armenia. According to some reports, about 700 hectares of juniper woodlands in the Vayots dzor 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. In connection with this, a request was sent to the Russian colleagues.
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 on the territory of the Russian Federation and abroad.