Poland will help Turkey and Greece in their fight against fires. President: Firefighters will go to the site. Our friends in need can always rely on us

I have asked Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to support Turkey, which needs helicopters and firefighting planes to fight fires

— said President Andrzej Duda on Thursday.

Turkish firefighters along with support from Croatia, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran have been battling forest fires on Turkey’s southern coast for eight days. Greece, with which Turkey has strained diplomatic relations - has also declared its support.

So far, the fires have caused eight deaths and hundreds of people have been injured.

Foreign Ministry chief Zbigniew Rau, in a conversation with Greek diplomatic chief Nikos Dendias, expressed his appreciation for all those fighting the fires in Greece and expressed Poland’s readiness to help - reported the foreign ministry.

Greek firefighters battled to contain two large fires raging near Olympia on the Peloponnese peninsula and on the Aegean island of Euboea on Thursday as the country struggles with a record heat wave.

Wheeled transport will be the first to set out to help on Friday. A vehicle from the National Fire Service Headquarters will transport three National Fire Service rescuers to Turkey; this will include a driver, a group commander and a helicopter rescuer - operator. The group will also transport a bambi bucket with a capacity of 1,500 litres and a larger bucket with a capacity of 3,000 litres, as well as a repair kit for the tanks and a repair kit for the helicopter in case of failure. PSP informs that this group and its equipment will provide logistical and operational support at the scene of operations.

In turn, the helicopter with rescuers and equipment is scheduled to depart at 4 a.m. on Saturday from the Warsaw Babice airport.

Tłum. K.J.