Berne sends emergency aid to fire-stricken Montenegro
Keystone-SDA
Switzerland has sent emergency aid to Montenegro, which has been hit by violent fires. Some 20 fire-fighters have been at work since Friday morning, according to the government. This is in response to an international request from the Balkan country.
+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox
The firefighters come from different teams in cantons Geneva, Vaud and Valais. Accompanied by three fire-fighting vehicles and several support vehicles, they are working in the affected areas of Montenegro, the foreign ministry said in a press release.
Their mission is to fight vegetation fires, defend sensitive points and reinforce local urban hubs, it added. An initial team had already been sent to Montenegro on Wednesday to prepare for the arrival of the fire-fighters.
+ Swiss government warns of severe heatwave
Montenegro is facing violent fires threatening its capital, Podgorica, as well as other regions of the country. Despite all the resources deployed, persistent winds are fuelling the flames, rendering certain areas uncontrollable. The authorities have carried out numerous evacuations.
The situation is critical throughout southern Europe. Portugal, Greece, Italy and Spain have been battling fires for several days. In the Balkans, Albania has also been hard hit.
Translated from French by DeepL/ts
We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.
Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.
If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at english@swissinfo.ch
