site.btaTwo Military Helicopters Help Combat Voden Fire

Two helicopters, a Cougar and a Mi-17, joined the fire extinguishing effort in Voden, in the southeastern Yambol Region, caretaker Minister of Defence Atanas Zapryanov said on bTV on Monday.

Sixty servicepersons and equipment from the military units at Bezmer and Kabile are on the scene, Zapryanov said. A total of 440 servicepersons in 15 units in Southern Bulgaria and seven units in Northern Bulgaria are on standby for possible deployment to the Voden area.

Discussing another blaze, the Defence Minister said: "We are following with heightened attention what is happening with the fire between Bulgaria and Greece. We are ready to activate a group in Blagoevgrad if the Directorate General for Fire Safety and Civil Protection makes a request."

He said the Defence Ministry has responded positively to all requests for military personnel to contribute to combating wildfires and mitigating their effects.

Repeating an assurance he gave after a July 19 meeting of the Council on Security under the Council of Ministers, Zapryanov said two more helicopters can be promptly equipped to combat wildfires. "If we equip two more, we will double our capacity," he said. He specified that the temporary equipment of two more helicopters will cost BGN 250,000.