Welcoming the firefighters at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Colonel Ashraf Gasimov, chief of the ministry’s Aviation Unit, said that at the request of the Israeli government and by the order of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, a BE-200ÇS amphibian plane with nine crew members on board left for Israel on Nov. 25 to tackle the wildfires in the country.

According to him, the team first learned the scope of the fire.

“We began taking part in extinguishing the fire on November 26. The area had been divided into sections as the participating states were too many. We were sent to areas around Haifa and Jerusalem. We first conducted explorative flights. That day we carried out nine flights to eight areas, releasing 80t water on the fire. Overall we used more than 100t water,” he added.

Gasimov noted that the Azerbaijani firefighters actively participated in extinguishing 8 fires in Israel.

He said that Israel’s president expressed his gratitude to representatives of participating countries, including Azerbaijan.

On November 25, Azerbaijan sent a BE-200CS amphibious aircraft to Israel in response to an appeal by the Israeli government for help in fighting wildfires raging through the country.

Israeli Public Security Minister Gilan Erdan have met with members of the international group—including Azerbaijani firefighters—that joined the efforts to extinguish the massive wildfires in the country, presenting to them diplomas and certificate for their aid, said the ministry.

Israel had earlier requested help from Azerbaijan. In accordance with the order of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, the Ministry of Emergency Situations sent a BE-200ÇS amphibious aircraft and fire-fighting equipment to Israel on Nov. 25.

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