A state of emergency has been declared in eastern Russia after huge fires continue to rip through forests in Siberia.
Emergency services have been struggling for weeks to contain an outbreak of fires in the regional territories of Buryatia and Transbaikal.
During May, the situation deteriorated significantly with emergency services reporting 291 fires covering an area of almost 198,000 hectares.
A huge task force consisting of over one-and-a-half thousand firefighters is trying to bring the fires under control.
However, local authorities have now asked the Kremlin to take further measures to help them extinguish the fires.
Alexander Osipov, the Transbaikal governor, said: “We ask for the strengthening and introduction of a federal emergency regime on the Transbaikal Territory.”
As of June 3, some 28 fires covering an area of 57,000 continue to rage in Transbaikal alone.
In Buryatia, 30,000 hectares of forest are still in flames. So far in 2024, an astonishing 750 forest fires covering an area of over 120,000 hectares have been reported in the Buryat region.
Authorities are throwing every resource at their disposal at the fires. Some 1,462 people and 105 pieces of equipment have been deployed.
Additionally, about 400 parachute firefighters from Russian regions were sent to the area from Rosleskhoz, the federal forestry agency.
Four helicopters have been sent to the region – three from the Ministry of Emergency Services and one from the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Government agencies also dispatched a Beriev Be-200 amphibious jet to the region, which can hold up to 12,000 litres of water.
Ivan Svetnikov, head of the Federal Forestry Agency of Russia, told media channels that the situation met the criteria for a state of emergency.
He said: “Indeed, the situation in Transbaikal and Buryatia is complex.
“We assessed the situation and sent the appropriate letters to the government commission on the introduction of an interregional and then federal emergency situation; the situation meets the criteria.”