Russia sends two amphibious aircraft to Turkey to help combat forest fires

MOSCOW. July 19 (Interfax) - The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has sent two Beriev Be-200ChS amphibious aircraft to Turkey at the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin to help fight the forest fires raging there, the ministry's press service said on Tuesday.

"At the instruction of the president of the Russian Federation and in response to the Turkish side's request, two amphibious aircraft of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry departed the Platov airport in the city of Rostov-on-Don for the cities of Mugla and Izmir in the Republic of Turkey to help extinguish large forest fires," the press service said.

The aviation group dispatched to Turkey has been trained to operate in adverse conditions and has an extensive record of combating wildfires, it said.