Czech Republic sending Black Hawk helicopter to help fight wildfires in southern France

The Czech Republic is sending a Black Hawk helicopter to help battle the large wildfires that have been burning in southern France for several days and remain out of control.

The helicopter departed from Přerov Airport on Friday morning in response to France's request for assistance from other European countries. The Black Hawk is specially designed for areal firefighting and is equipped with a Bambi Bucket capable of carrying 3,450 litres of water.

On board are two pilots, two technicians, two Czech aerial rescue specialists from the South Moravian Fire Rescue Service, and the commander of the Czech deployment module from the Moravian-Silesian Region.