Indonesia Hires Russian Plane to Fight Forest Fires

Pekanbaru (Antara Bali) - Indonesia is hiring a Fix Wing Beriey BE-200 from Russia to maximize forest fire fighting efforts in Riau province.

"Next week the special plane to fight fires is expected to arrive in Pekanbaru," the spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Agus Wibowo, said here on Saturday.

Indonesia once rented the plane to fight fires in Banjarmasin and other areas in Sumatra. "The plane is expected to be able to optimize the work of the haze control task force," he said. (M038)