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Emergencies min arrives in Siberia affected by major forest fires

Smoke from wildfires in the Tomsk Region have spread to neighbouring regions
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

KEMEROVO, July 28 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Minister of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) Vladimir Puchkov has arrived in Siberia where a difficult situation with forest fires has developed. The EMERCOM plane landed at Kemerovo airport, since Tomsk airport does receive aircraft because of smog.

From Kemerovo the minister is going to the Tomsk Region in order to assess the situation on site and control the progress of the fire extinguishing efforts. Russia’s chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko and head of the Federal Forestry Service Viktor Maslyakov have also arrived in the region.

On Friday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev instructed the EMERCOM chief to take the situation in the Tomsk Region under his personal control.

Smoke from wildfires in the Tomsk Region have spread to neighbouring regions. The smell of burning is distinctly felt in the Kemerovo Region. However, Kemerovo airport operates normally.