Slovak Firefighters to Lend a Hand with Putting Out Fires in Austria

Slovak Firefighters to Lend a Hand with Putting Out Fires in Austria

Bratislava, October 30 (TASR) – Slovak firefighters have been despatched to Austria to help put out extensive forest fires near the village of Reichenau an der Rax, Interior Minister Roman Mikulec (OLANO) announced in his Facebook post on Saturday.

“A helicopter of the Interior Ministry, carrying the firefighters aboard, is already en route to the destination as well as an off-road vehicle with an equipment. I hope that the capabilities that the firefighters demonstrated in combatting the flames in Greece will also help in Lower Austria,” Mikulec posted in the afternoon.

Austria has been plagued by the forest fires since Tuesday (October 26), with a wooded area of 115 hectares currently ablaze. The situation is exacerbated by unfavourable weather and difficult terrain. The affected area is situated in Lower Austria, about 130 kilometres west of the Slovak border.