Croatian firefighting aircraft arrives in Montenegro to battle coastal blaze

Montenegro yesterday requested assistance from NATO and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism due to the large number of wildfires across the country.

Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimovic thanked Croatia for its help. “I would like to thank my colleague (Gordan Grlic) Radman for his understanding and coordination, as well as Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Croatia’s Deputy Prime Ministers, Defence Minister Ivan Anusic and Veterans Minister Tomo Medved, for their prompt response. Thank you to everyone helping Montenegro in these difficult moments,” he said, adding that solidarity was the key to friendship.

Montenegrin government officials also announced that Italian firefighting aircraft would be deployed to the country during the day, while Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said Austria would also provide assistance.

Yesterday, Serbia sent a Kamov Ka-32 helicopter with a five-tonne water capacity, under a bilateral agreement with the Montenegrin government, to help fight fires near Podgorica alongside aircraft from Montenegro’s Interior Ministry.

The head of Montenegro’s Directorate for Emergency Management, Miodrag Besovic, said there were currently numerous active fires in Podgorica, Bar, Budva, Bijelo Polje, Niksic and Savnik. “Of these fires, the most serious situation is in the Podgorica area”

A 41-year-old member of the Montenegrin Army was killed today, and another seriously injured, when a military water tanker overturned near Podgorica.

“The Montenegrin Army, in cooperation with the competent authorities, is conducting an investigation to determine the cause and circumstances of the accident,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.