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Fires: Algeria Charters a Russian Water Bomber

Algeria has chartered a Russian water bomber plane to fight the forest fires that killed two people on Wednesday in Skikda.

Algeria is again facing deadly fires. Two people were fatally asphyxiated by the smoke in the forest fires that broke out in the wilaya of Skikda on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, June 15. According to Civil Protection, the victims were between 45 and 68 years old.

The first was suffocated by the smoke as he struggled, with other volunteers like him, against the flames which ravaged the Boukerma Smaรฏl farm in the daรฏra of Ramdane Djamel.

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The second victim died on his farm located in the locality of Bissi in the commune of Beni Bachir (south of Skikda), after being surrounded by fire. These are the first deaths from fires in Algeria at the start of summer 2022.

Since Tuesday, 323 fires have been recorded in Algeria, according to a report provided Wednesday by Civil Protection. In 2021, fires of an unprecedented scale had hit northern Algeria, killing many people and causing significant material damage.

To fight the fires, Algeria took steps last August to acquire Russian water bombers, and on Monday, during the inauguration of the Algiers International Fair (FIA), the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune expressed to the United States pavilion the urgency for Algeria to acquire or lease  American water bombers immediately.

Official command of Russian water bombers

Pending the completion of the process of purchasing these planes, which can take several months, Algeria has chartered a water bomber plane โ€œBeriev BE 200โ€ chartered for three months from Russia.

The plane landed at Algiers airport on Wednesday evening to intervene in operations to extinguish forest fires across the national territory, according to the official APS agency.

โ€œAlgeria experienced forest fires last year, we mobilized all the means, and we saw that the means available to Algeria were not sufficient in the face of such fires of an exceptional magnitudeโ€,  said Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud, who was there when the plane arrived.

โ€œSo, on the instructions of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, we were obliged to seek charters through certain countries of the world. There was a response from one country, and today this bomber plane is here in Algeria,โ€  he said.

Beldjoud further specified that it is a โ€œcharter for a period of three months, from June 15 to September 15 nextโ€. He added that it is โ€œa unique bomber in the world, with a large capacity, which can intervene in all places. This plane constitutes an additional means for the country and also an additional means to help the elements of the Civil Protectionโ€, he further said.

Beldjoud recalled that President Tebboune had given โ€œthe instruction last year, in view of the situation experienced by Algeria in terms of fires, for the acquisition of four planes of the Beriev BE 200 model. “The order has been officially placed and one of the four bombers is expected to arrive in Algeria towards the end of next December, while the other three will be delivered during the first quarter of next yearโ€œ, he said.

The Beriev BE 200 which landed Wednesday evening in Algiers specializes in fighting forest fires. It has a capacity of 12,000 compartmentalized liters, which allows an airdrop according to operational needs. The plane has the possibility of flying at low altitude and a cruising speed of more than 500 km/h and stalling at sea in 14 seconds with the possibility of refueling on the airstrip, according to the technical sheet provided by the Protection civil.

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