MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The wildfires flared up in Israel earlier this week, becoming the worst in the country's history since 2010. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested Russia's assistance in a phone call with President Vladimir Putin in battling the fires. On Friday, two EMERCOM aircraft started to extinguish wildfires in Israel. The main task of the Russian crew is to protect the cities of Haifa, Galilee and Carmel from fires.
"Since the early morning, two aircraft have been extinguishing fires in the vicinity of Haifa, where the situation was improved shortly before, due to the interaction with the surface group… However, the situation there remains difficult," the spokesman told reporters.
The Beriev Be-200 is well suited to firefighting missions. It can take in up to 12.5 metric tons of water in the space of a few seconds while traveling over a body of water before dropping the load on the flames.
