IRKUTSK, July 1. /TASS/. An Ilyushin-76 waterbomber missing on a mission to put out wildfires in the Irkutsk region taiga managed to discharge its consignment of whater on the burning forest before communications with it were lost, a source in the regional emergency services told TASS.

"The jet dropped the water and was returning when communications with it were lost," he said.

The spot where the communications were out is located some 20 km away from the airborne firefighrers putting out a wildfire on the ground and about 300 km away from Irkutsk.

"The zone of the search is roughly clear now," the source said.