The Il-76 plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry has landed at the airport in the Serbian city of Nis to help fight the large-scale forest fires raging in the country, the TASS correspondent in Serbia reported, BTA reports.
The plane is equipped with a special fire extinguishing system developed for the Il-76. It allows up to 42 tons of water to be thrown onto the most intense fires in one go, with the water jet covering an area of up to 700 by 65 meters.
Because of this ability, the modified Il-76 is known as a “fire bomber“ - an aircraft designed to quickly extinguish large forest fires from the air.
The situation with forest fires in Serbia is becoming more complicated, with local authorities turning to Moscow for assistance.
Niš is also home to the headquarters of the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center, established in 2012, which is among the main structures for coordinating Russian aid in emergency situations in Serbia.