Islam Times - Iranian Plane Launches First Firefighting Operation in Turkey

Islam Times - An Iranian firefighting tanker airplane conducted the first operation in Turkey with the capacity of 40 tons of water after forest fires erupted on Wednesday in Antalya’s Manavgat district and spread over a large area.

Pilot Nouri Al-e Agha, Head of the Air Fire Control and Logistics Center of Iran's Ministry of Defense said that a firefighting team and a firefighting tanker aircraft designed by young Iranian experts with a capacity of 40 tons of water arrived in the city of Muğla this evening.

He said, "With the coordination made in this regard, we hope to send two more water-spraying helicopters in the next day to the area in order to help extinguish more areas and prevent the fire from progressing."

According to the Public Relations Department of the Iranian Ministry of Defense, the quality of presence of the Iranian firefighting team distinguishes the activity from other teams sent from neighboring countries and this is the pride and honor for the Islamic Republic of Iran, he added.

The forest fires erupted over the last few days in the southern provinces of Mersin, Osmaniye, Adana, Antalya, Kahramanmaras in Turkey.

Forest fires first erupted on Wednesday in Antalya’s Manavgat district and spread over a large area.