Malaysia, Australia withdraw firefighting assets from Indonesia

Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency says the Bombardier amphibious aircraft from Malaysia and the Hercules aircraft from Australia flew back on Monday.

By Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewsAsia 20 Oct 15;

JAKARTA: Malaysia and Australia have withdrawn their assets from Indonesia after completing five days of fire fighting in South Sumatra.

Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) on Tuesday (Oct 20) said the Bombardier amphibious aircraft from Malaysia and the Hercules aircraft from Australia flew back on Monday. However, BNPB did not mention if the Malaysian aircraft were going back for servicing as claimed in some reports.

Currently, there are still 11 Indonesian aircraft and one Chinook helicopter from Singapore available to continue water bombing efforts. These assets will be reinforced with two units of the Russian Beriev BE-200 amphibious aircraft expected to arrive in Palembang on Wednesday.

The aircraft, which can carry 12,000 litres of water, will be accompanied by 20 Russian crew. Indonesia has used the Beriev BE-200 for firefighting missions in 2007.

- CNA/yt


Malaysia to continue sending aircraft to ‘waterbomb’ Sumatera fires
New Straits Times 20 Oct 15;

SUBANG: Malaysia will continue deploying its assets to Indonesia to tackle the haze resulting from fires in Sumatera.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the CL415 Bombardier aircraft and AS365N3 Dauphin helicopter deployed to Sumatera were brought back to Malaysia today to undergo maintenance.

"The assets need to be brought back temporarily for maintenance. It will take about 100 hours before we can deploy our assets back to Indonesia.
"We will deploy the aircraft and helicopter to Indonesia on either Friday or next Monday," he told a press conference after the helicopter and aircraft homecoming ceremony at the Maritime Air Station, here today.

A total of 25 Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) personnel were involved in the mission and they arrived at about 1.15pm today.
Shahidan said on average, Bombardier CL415 aircraft pilots carried out 26 water bombing runs, dumping a total of 165,000 litres of water onto the blaze daily.

On Oct 11, the MMEA began its firefighting operation in the South Sumatera region to combat raging forest fires in Indonesia which had blanketed the republic and parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia in choking haze.

Reports by Zahratulhayat Mat Arif, Yip Zhi Min and Ko Ja Yee


Indonesia brings in Russian aircraft to tackle haze
Edna Tarigan, thejakartapost.com 20 Oct 15;

Malaysia and Australia's aid to Indonesia in lending water bombing aircraft ended on Monday. So, Indonesia turned to Russia for more help to tackle the haze crisis.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said on Tuesday that Bombardier aircraft from Malaysia and Hercules aircraft from Australia had returned to their respective countries.

"They have ended their five-day mission. There is only Chinook Mustang helicopter conducting water bombing in South Sumatra,” Sutopo said in a statement sent to thejakartapost.com on Tuesday.

He said there are currently 11 helicopters and airplanes, ten from Indonesia and one from Singapore for water bombing and cloud seeding.

"To increase the water bombing efforts, the government brought in two units of amphibi aircraft Beriev Be-200 along with 20 crew from Russia. They will land on Wednesday morning in Palembang," he said, adding that Russian Embassy officials have arrived in Palembang.

Sutopo explained that the the Be-200 plane is a legendary amphibious water bombing aircraft with a 12,000 liter capacity. Its ability includes taking water from rivers, lakes and the sea.

"Indonesia used this type of aircraft in the 2007 forest and land fires," he said.

As part of its strategy, the government moved two Air Tractor planes to Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung province, to support the operation as Palembang airport is covered with thick haze with less visibility that disrupts the flights.

Sutopo added that water tanks with a capacity of 5,000 liters of water, chemical materials and other equipment have been prepared in the Pangkal Pinang base for fire extinguishing operations.

Seperately, Sugarin Hidayat, chief of Pekanbaru Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said there were 623 hot spots detected in Sumatra on Tuesday. The Terra Aqua satellites recorded 19 hot spots in Bengkulul, 67 in Jambi, 23 in Lampung, 456 in South Sumatra, 6 in West Sumatra, 28 in Bangka Belitung and 24 in Riau.

“The weather in Riau is cloudy and covered by haze. The potential for rain is very low, “ he said. (rin)


More water-bombers needed to put out hotspots
Antara 20 Oct 15;

Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said more water-bombing aircraft are needed to put out fire hotspots in South Sumatra province.

The need for additional water-bombing aircraft is based on the land and forest area, including peatland, burnt in the province, he said after inspecting land fires in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, on Tuesday.

To extinguish land and forest fires more effectively, the forest firefighting task force needs more water-bombing aircraft, he said.

He said peatland fires in South Sumatra have not been put out as yet.

The prolonged drought, coupled with strong winds and high drought rate, have made the spread of land fires uncontrollable, he said.

The minister said he will evaluate the need for water-bombing planes to achieve maximum results in putting out the hotspots.

He said he will report the evaluation to President Joko Widodo for consideration.

Several foreign aircraft are assisting the task force in fighting land and forest fires but these efforts were not enough to end the land and forest fires.

Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Wiliem Rampangile said earlier in the day that low visibility and limited water sources have impeded the operation of foreign airplanes to assist in land and forest fire fighting efforts in South Sumatra.

During their six days of operation, some of the foreign airplanes found it difficult to conduct water-bombing operations as visibility dropped to only 700 meters in several areas, he said.

In the land and forest fire-affected areas of Cengal and Pedamaran in Ogan Komering Ilir district, only a Malaysian plane with a capacity of carrying five thousand liters of water proved effective in reaching the scene without having to return to the base for refilling, he said.

In the meantime, a Hercules N405 LC plane from Australia which has a capacity of carrying 15 thousand liters of water, had difficulty in accessing the target site due to low visibility, he said.

He said low visibility and limited water sources are among the obstacles being faced by fire fighters in extinguishing land and forest fires in South Sumatra, currently blanketed by a thick smoke.(*)


Low visibility impedes water-bombing operations in S Sumatra
Antara 20 Oct 15;

Palembang, S Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Low visibility and limited water sources have impeded the operation of foreign airplanes that are here to assist in putting out land and forest fires in South Sumatra province.

During their six days of operation, some of the foreign airplanes found it difficult to conduct water-bombing as visibility dropped to only 700 meters in several areas, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Wiliem Rampangile, said here on Tuesday.

In the land and forest fire-affected areas of Cengal and Pedamaran in Ogan Komering Ilir district, only a Malaysian plane with a capacity of carrying 5 thousand liters of water proved effective in accessing the target site without having to return to the base for refilling, he said.

In the meantime, a Hercules N405 LC plane from Australia which has a capacity of carrying 15 thousand liters of water had difficulties reaching the scene due to low visibility, he said.

He said low visibility and limited water sources are among the obstacles that firefighters are facing in extinguishing land and forest fires in South Sumatra which is currently blanketed by a thick smoke.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said during his working visit to the province on Tuesday that the government will extend the period in which foreign planes can assist to put out land and forest fires.

He said two Russian planes with a capacity to carry 12 tons of water each are expected to arrive in South Sumatra on Tuesday night.

An Australian aircraft has reportedly concluded its designated period to assist in putting out land and forest fires in South Sumatra.

"The Australian aircraft, after completing the period it was assigned to provide assistance to put out the fires in the forest and land areas in South Sumatra, is now headed back to its country," Rampangilei said on Monday.

A Malaysian aircraft, too, completed its assistance period, which only leaves the Singaporean aircraft that is still helping in extinguishing the fires in South Sumatras forest and land areas.

The disaster management agency continues its efforts to fight the ongoing forest fires.(*)