Iran Sends Choppers to Douse Wetland Fire in Iraq

Date: 20 July 2018 - 21:25

News ID: ۵۵۳۲۸

TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iran has sent two firefighting helicopters to Iraq to help it contain a raging wildfire in the Mesopotamian Marshes which make up part of their joint border.
The helicopters belonging to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) are equipped with tanks that can carry 4,000 liters of water, head of the Iranian defense ministry’s aerial firefighting department Muhammad Mahdi Nouri said Friday.
The official predicted the fire would be knocked down by Saturday, giving residents in southern Iraq and those in Iran’s Khuzestan province a respite from choking smoke that has blanketed the area for two weeks.
According to the head of the Environment Department of Khuzestan Province, the Iraqi side of the wetland covers an area of 150,000 hectares, more than 16,000 hectares of which has been burning over the past fortnight.