In accordance with the request of the Serbia’s Government and the order of the RF Government, a water-bombing Mil Mi-8 helicopter owned by the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations has taken off from the city of Moscow and is headed to the town of Nis.
The humanitarian operation became necessary as fire hazard in Serbia is growing due to hot weather.
The helicopter and its experienced crew of the Zhukovsky Air Rescue Center is going to be stationed and be on round-the-clock duty at an airfield in Nis. The Mi-8 is going to respond to large fires in Serbia and the Balkans.
The Emergency Ministry’s Mi-8 is a multi-purpose helicopter rigged with a water-bombing device and an extended arm with a hoist to get rescuers and the injured down and up. The crew have had hundreds of successful rescue operation under different climatic conditions in Russia and abroad.
The Russian and Serbian governments signed an agreement for creation of the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center in April 2012. It is designated to faster response to emergency situations happening in Serbia and other countries of the region, namely by search-and-rescue operations, humanitarian operations and fire suppression as one of the most important tasks ensuring protection of people and territories.