RSAF C-130 aircraft arrive in Pekanbaru to help fight forest fires
RSAF C-130 aircraft arrive in Pekanbaru to help fight forest fires
18 August 2005
publishedby www.channelnewsasia.com
Two Singapore Armed Forces transport aircraft have arrived in Indonesia to help put out the forest fires there.
The C-130 planes brought in equipment and 54 civil defence officers.
They will join some 300 Indonesian and Malaysian firefighters to tackle the forest fires 300 kilometres north of Pekanbaru.
But the task is going to be a tough one.
The biggest problem they are facing right now is the water source which is usually situated between 2 to 3 kilometres from the raging fire.
To complicate matters, fire fighters now have to deal with peat fire, smouldering to a depth of 3 metres.
Although there has been some rain for the past few days, experts say it is not enough to dowse the fire in the ground.
