Two Romanian aircraft to fly to Greece to assist in wildfire suppression

Romania's Defence Minister Mihai Fifor said on Wednesday that two aircraft will take off the same day from Base 90 for Greece to assist Greece in suppressing recent wildfires.

According to the Romanian Defence Ministry (MApN), the two aircraft will take off around 10:00hrs, EEST. It is a C-27 J Spartan aircraft, configured for firefighting, and a C-130 Hercules aircraft for logistical support, made available by MApN within the framework of the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union, which coordinates responding to natural and man-made disasters at EU level, allowing coordinated, effective and rapid assistance of affected communities.

"We are ready to get off Base 90. We are talking about a firefighting aircraft, a Hercules airplane for logistic support, and 20 soldiers manning these aircraft. These procedures as good as compete; we are also in direct contact with our colleagues in Greece, we had a new discussion this morning with the Greek minister of defense telling, whom we told that we are ready to fly to Greece," Fifor told Digi24 private broadcaster.

Fifor said that, for now, this is the support that Romania puts at the disposal of Greece.

"If more is needed, we will certainly be with our Hellenic colleagues," Fifor said, noting that the 20 soldiers will handle the two aircraft.

He said that on Wednesday morning he informed Prime Minister Viorica Dancila about this mission.

On Tuesday, Fifor had a series of telephone conversations with Greek counterpart Panos Kammenos on the state of emergency in the Attica region, following devastating wildfires in the last few days that killed people, in which he assured of the full availability of the Romanian Armed Forces to intervene with soldiers and means in support of those who act at the scene. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florin Marin, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)