Fire Service chief thanks Russian colleagues for help
Greece’s Fire Service chief has thanked 80 Russian pilots and technicians for their help in fighting recent fires as they departed the country after a three-week mission.
Last month, Russia sent two Ilyushin Il-76 planes and two Mil Mi-8 helicopters to assist in the battle against the massive wildfires that ravaged several areas of the country.
“It is an honor to work with you,” Lieutenant General Stefanos Kolokouris told the Russian colleagues at Athens International Airport, before highlighting the contribution of Russian aircraft in fighting the recent fires.
“The Ilyushins flew for 10 hours and dropped 420 tonnes of water, the Mi-8s made 208 drops with 850 tonnes of water.”
His comments were tweeted by the Russian Embassy to Greece, as were the remarks from the commander of the Russian firefighting delegation.
“Greece may be smaller, but we found that it has a big soul. We hope to meet again, but for positive reasons,” the commander of the Russian team, Colonel I. Matveyev, said.
