Khofifah Seeks to Deploy Water-Bombing Helicopter to Bromo by Friday
Malang, East Java (ANTARA) - East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa is working to ensure that a water bombing helicopter from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) can be deployed to help extinguish fires in Bromo on Friday (7/8).
Speaking in Malang, East Java, on Thursday, Khofifah said that before heading to Bromo, the water bombing helicopter is expected to land first at Juanda Airport before being dispatched to the Bromo area.
“Communication continues because its current position is in Kalimantan, and I understand they also need it there. God willing, the helicopter assistance from BNPB will be there tomorrow morning,” said Khofifah.
She said that firefighting efforts are currently ongoing using a water spray drone with a carrying capacity of 150 litres of water.
The drone has been confirmed to be operational in carrying out firefighting efforts.
“The area traversed by the drone does require permission so that when it operates, nothing disturbs it,” she said.
Nevertheless, she said that the firefighting process is not sufficient with just an unmanned aircraft because it requires a unit capable of holding much more water.
Therefore, Khofifah believes the presence of a water bombing helicopter is greatly needed so that firefighting operations in Bromo can run more effectively.
“Because the volume of water we can use for firefighting would be much larger,” she said.
She confirmed that all joint personnel in the field continue to work to extinguish the flames and then wet the area to minimise the potential spread of fire points.
Khofifah expressed hope that manual handling by personnel combined with the use of modern technology will accelerate the firefighting process in the Mount Bromo area.
Previously, BNPB Head Lieutenant General TNI Suharyanto stated on Wednesday (5/8) that his agency had prepared two water bombing helicopters to accelerate firefighting efforts in the Mount Bromo area.
The deployment of water bombing helicopters is necessary because the fire location has difficult terrain that is hard for joint personnel to reach.