Fire at Tjentište threatens to engulf Sutjeska National Park

(Patria) - Director of the Republika Srpska Civil Protection Administration Boris Trninić warned that centuries-old coniferous forest is burning in the Sutjeska National Park at the Tjentište locality and that the urgent engagement of helicopters from the Helicopter Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia is necessary to assist the Helicopter Service of Republika Srpska and the personnel engaged on the ground.

- In the past 48 hours, enormous efforts have been made to prevent the spread of the fire at Tjentište. Human and technical resources are almost exhausted, and if a larger aircraft for firefighting from the Republic of Serbia is not engaged, an ecological catastrophe could occur in the Perućica rainforest and throughout the territory of Sutjeska National Park - stated Trninić.

He warned of unforeseeable damage and catastrophe in ecological and material terms, as a vast area with centuries-old, highest-quality forest in Southeast Europe, the ecosystem of Sutjeska National Park, and the Perućica rainforest are threatened.

- I appeal to the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina to put politics aside and approve the flight of helicopters from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia for firefighting, specifically the Kamov type aircraft. That aircraft, with its large bucket capacity and flight frequency, would greatly contribute to controlling and extinguishing the fire at Tjentište and avoiding unforeseeable ecological and material consequences in this entire region of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina - stated Trninić.

He added that all available human resources and material assets of Sutjeska National Park, the Foča Fire Department, the Foča Forestry Department, the Helicopter Service of Republika Srpska, and teams from the Republika Srpska Civil Protection Administration are currently engaged on the ground.