site.btaHungarian Helicopter Lands in Plovdiv, President Radev Welcomes It

A Hungarian helicopter that will join the firefighting efforts in the country landed at Plovdiv Airport on Sunday. Its crew was welcomed by President Rumen Radev. "I call on those in power to stop talking about the people and finally do something for them, not only to put out fires, but also to address the lack of water in certain areas of the country," he told journalists.

Radev thanked all firefighters, military personnel, and volunteers who participated in extinguishing the fires, as well as firefighters from Turkiye.

The head of State also thanked Bulgaria's EU partners who responded to the call for help. Four helicopters were supposed to arrive on Sunday, but only one has landed so far. The President suggested that the others may be delayed or may not have taken off at all due to weather problems in the west of the country. "This raises serious questions about our firefighting capabilities," he said.

"Tomorrow, our military will have a maximum of two Cougar aircrafts and one Mi-17," he added, recalling that last year Parliament passed a resolution obliging the Council of Ministers to purchase specialized aircraft for firefighting. "Since then, there has been indifference, procrastination, and a 'let's hope it passes' attitude," he added. "It will not pass because the fires are becoming more frequent. We must have our own capabilities for aerial firefighting. The existing ones are extremely insufficient," Radev added.