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Russian plane makes five missions to tackle Serbian wildfires on day three

The Il-76 plane dropped 210 metric tons of water during its efforts

MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. The Il-76 plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry performed five flights and dropped 210 metric tons of water while extinguishing wildfires in Serbia on the third day of its efforts, the ministry wrote on the Max messenger.

"For the third consecutive day, the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s plane is helping to tackle wildfires in Serbia. Since morning, the Il-76 plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry made five flights, dropping 210 metric tons of water in total," the ministry said.

Amid the difficult situation with wildfires, Serbia has asked Moscow to help. A Russian Emergencies Ministry’s special aircraft arrived in Nis, where the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center is located, on August 19 and joined firefighting operations on the following day.

Serbia’s most severe fire has been raging in the Deliblato Sands national reserve in the country’s northeast since early August. Helicopters, as well as Serbian soldiers and specialists from the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center in Nis, are taking part in the firefighting effort, which is being hampered by difficult terrain and historically low water levels in the Danube River. The natural reserve has been listed on the official UNESCO Tentative (Preliminary) List.