JAKARTA, Nov 5 — Australia will join Indonesia's waterbombing operations to help put out fires that have been raging for months, days after a helicopter crashed during a firefighting mission on Borneo island, killing one person and injuring several others.
The Indonesian National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) said that Australia's New South Wales Rural Fire Service has dispatched one C-130 Hercules and a Cessna Citation aircraft to support Indonesia, with both expected to join the firefighting operations from tomorrow to Thursday (November 12).
Indonesia has been battling its most intense wildfires in 11 years, with large swathes of land scorched, mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua.
Health Ministry data showed that fire and haze have caused over 400,000 cases of acute respiratory infections in seven provinces, as of Monday (November 2).
In a statement today, BPNB head Kristomei Sianturi said that Jakarta has continued to make "massive efforts" to control the fires, including waterbombing and cloud seeding operations, and the engagement of foreign assistance.
"The support includes a Large Air Tanker aircraft capable of dropping up to 15,000 litres of water per sortie, with an estimated capacity of up to six sorties per day," said Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Roderick Bruce Brazier in the same statement.
Yesterday, the Indonesian military confirmed that a waterbombing helicopter crashed in Central Kalimantan on Borneo island, killing one of the crew and injuring five others. Two remaining officers have yet to be evacuated.
