MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/. A Russian Ilyushin Il-76 plane will operate in Chile helping to extinguish raging wildfires until the situation is stabilized, Russian Emergencies Ministry’s press service told TASS. The Il-76 arrived in the country on January 30 at Chilean authorities’ request.
"Russian air technology has again proved its efficiency in the fight against fires," he said. "The plane will try to put out wildfires in Chile until the situation is drastically improved and all the wildfires extinguished."
On Saturday, the Russian plane dropped 42 tons of water on burning forests, putting out a wildfire in the remote Talami area.
"Overall, Russian pilots carried out 15 flights and dropped a total of 630 tons of water," the spokesman said adding that six populated localities, having over 56,000 residents, were saved from wildfires.
Chile has declared a state of emergency in six regions over raging wildfires.
The Il-76 is capable of dropping over 42 tons of water on wildfires at a time and is the world’s largest fire-fighting plane.
"The Russian specialists’ work is hampered by the mountainous area and elevation changes," the ministry said.
"The crew is prepared for work in complex conditions and has huge expertise in extinguishing forest fires. It has participated in numerous occasions in eliminating emergency situations both in Russia and abroad," Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said.