Yelena Dolgikh said, "It is now summer in Latin America. Under the contract, two Ka-32A11VS helicopters owned by the Spanish operator Helicopteros del Sureste will be used for forest firefighting in the next three months."
Each year during Chile's fire season, tens of thousands of hectares of forest burn down, at times reaching major cities and destroying villages, Dolgikh said.
"The Ka-32A11VS is the first Russian-produced helicopters to be used for forest firefighting in Chile," she said.
In 2004-2005, Spanish company Helisureste purchased four Kamov Ka-32A11VS helicopters, and ordered another four at the end of 2005.
The Ka-32A11VS helicopter has been cleared to fly in Russia, Canada, Switzerland, Taiwan, South Korea and Mexico. It is used for firefighting, search and rescue work, construction, and freight transit in mountains, and in conditions of limited visibility.
