Hungary helps Montenegro – UPDATED: defence minister
Hungary is offering help to Montenegro to fight wildfires, with the air forces sending a firefighter helicopter with a crew of seven to the country, the foreign minister said on Tuesday.
Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook after a phone call with the deputy prime minister of Montenegro that Filip Ivanovic had requested international help, including from Hungary, because a long-lasting drought and high temperatures had resulted in a catastrophic situation in his country.
Some forty square kilometres of land has been devastated by wildfires in the country and the affected areas included the vicinity of the capital and also seaside regions popular with tourists, he said.
“After our phone call today, the Hungarian Air Force is sending a helicopter able to carry a two cubic metre helibucket, with a crew of seven people, to contribute to fighting the wildfires,” he said.
UPDATE: For a third time in a month Hungary is helping a NATO ally extinguish forest fires
For the third time in a single month Hungary is helping a NATO ally to extinguish forest fires, the defence minister, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky, said on Wednesday. A Hungarian armed forces Airbus H225M helicopter has departed from Szolnok and personnel will use a firefighting water bucket to help the Montenegrin authorities contain the flames, the ministry said in a statement. At the end of July Hungarians helped Albania and Bulgaria in a similar operation, it added.
Read also:
- Hungarian Defence Forces get new Airbus H225M helicopters completing the fleet – VIDEO and details HERE
- Hungarian military helicopters sent to Albania for help
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