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Aircraft spot and fight wildfires in Russian Urals, Siberia

The area of wildfires in Siberia has doubled over the past weekend, reaching 140,500 hectares

MOSCOW, May 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Military aircraft, including Mi-8 and Antonov An-26 helicopters, as well as An-12 and An-26 transport aircraft, are used to evacuate people, help fight wildfires in Russia’s Urals and Siberia, while drones patrol areas close to military units of the Eastern Military District, the district's press service told ITAR-TASS on Monday.

The total number of specialists combating wildfires currently stands at 7,500 people.

Unmanned aerial vehicles are used to spot wildfires and determine their direction, as well as to warn about approaching fires in Buryatia, Primorye, as well as in the Baikal, Khabarovsk and Amur regions. Most drones are equipped with infrared cameras that give a possibility to detect even the smallest fires.

Meanwhile, the area of wildfires in Siberia has doubled over the past weekend, reaching 140,500 hectares. Almost all fires are raging in the Baikal region. Besides, strong wildfires have been spotted in the republic of Altai, in Buryatia, Tuva, Khakassia, as well as in the Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk regions.

An emergency situation regime was introduced across Siberia’s Baikal region and Buryatia.