
20 Civil Protection Department officers left Malta for Greece to help authorities manage the raging forest fires caused by the heatwaves hitting various countries.
Prior to their leaving Malta, Minister for Home Affairs, Security, Reforms and Equality Byron Camilleri met with the officers at the Malta International Airport.
This aid comes a few months after the same department assisted Turkey by sending 32 officials to help deal with the earthquake catastrophe.
The Minister highlighted how this is the first time the department is sending a contingent to provide assistance with fire extinguishing. This was only possible, he said, due to the officers’ professional training and the investment that went into the CPD.
General Director for the CPD, Peter Paul Coleiro, said that, from the beginning of this year, Greece experienced 5,200 wildfires, with 1250 acres being destroyed.
A process of pre-positioning, whereby officers are already on site to manage the situation, was taken on by the European Union to deal with such calamities.
The officials are expected to remain in Greece until the end of July through a European mechanism for Civil Protection. Meanwhile, 230 officials will continue to operate normally in Malta.
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