Fires, two Romanian aircraft arrive in Albania, first operation at Mali i Thatë

Published: Wednesday, 14 August 2024 12:59

 

Two aircraft from the Romanian Armed Forces arrived in Albania today, joining the efforts of Albanian forces to contain and extinguish fires in several problematic areas across the country.

These aircraft were sent as part of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, which Albania is a member of.

The Romanian crews will be stationed at Kuçova Air Base for about a week, where they will be coordinated by the National Civil Protection Agency to target the areas with the greatest need. Due to the challenges faced, the first operation with the Romanian aircraft is taking place at Mali i Thatë in Pustec, where the fire has been active for several days due to difficult terrain and highly flammable vegetation. Supporting the ground forces are 107 military personnel and 10 vehicles.

Defense Minister Pirro Vengu was present to welcome the two Romanian aircraft and their crews, and he expressed his gratitude to the Romanian authorities for their assistance during these challenging times.

The two military aircraft are a C-27J (Spartan), which will be involved in firefighting operations, and a C-130 (Hercules), which provides logistical support to the C-27J, with a capacity to carry 6 tons of water per flight.