Russia will send firefighting aircraft to Israel hit by the largest wildfires in its history following an order by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russian Emergencies Ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said on Friday.
"It is planned that an Il-76 Ilyushin plane, which is capable of dumping 42 tons of water onto fire hotspots in one swoop, an amphibious Be-200 Beriev plane, as well as an Mi-26 Halo heavy transport helicopter equipped with a 15-ton water reservoir, will leave for Israel on Friday," Andrianova told journalists in Moscow.
The Il-76 will take off from Ramenskoye Airport near Moscow at 11.00 a.m. local time [08:00 GMT], she said.
Large-scale wildfires broke out near the Israeli northwestern port of Haifa, home to 250,000 people, on Thursday, killing at least 40 people and forcing some 15,000 to leave their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has admitted that the country is not ready to fight the fires, the worst since the creation of the Israeli state in 1948, and requested Russia, as well as Greece, Cyprus, Spain and some other countries used to tackling large-scale wildfires, to provide assistance.
Yuri Brazhnikov, who heads the Russian Emergencies Ministry's department in charge of international activities, said on Thursday Russian aircraft would remain in Israel for at least 10 days and that Russia was ready to send more firefighting planes and equipment to the fire-hit country if needed.
Israel is awaiting 25 firefighting planes from other countries to help tackle the disaster. Strong winds and a long-standing draught have hampered firefighters' efforts, with forests on the slopes of Mount Carmel still engulfed in flames a day after the fires broke out.
Most of those killed by the blaze were prison guards who were going by bus to evacuate detainees from a jail in the fire-hit area.
Israeli police are studying various causes of the fires, including arson, a local police spokesman told RIA Novosti.
Russia may also send firefighting aircraft to Iran, Brazhnikov said on Thursday. "The situation in northern Iran is presently difficult," he said, meaning possible wildfires.
"We are in talks with the country's authorities, and I do not rule out that Russian aviation will work there," he said.
MOSCOW, December 3 (RIA Novosti)
