Malaysia to send second fire-fighting mission to southern Sumatra

Malaysia will be sending a second mission to help put out forest fires in southern Sumatra, Indonesia which have continued to spread despite efforts to extinguish the flames.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the decision to dispatch the second team was prompted by the situation which has reached an alarming level.

"Based on preliminary reports received, the haze and fire situation there has not recovered but deteriorated in fact.

"Indonesia has requested that we continue the operation urgently," he told a media conference after receiving the return of an aid mission of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) from southern Sumatra at the Subang MMEA Air Station here, today.

On Oct 9, the crew left with a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) plane as well as two MMEA aircraft to fight forest fires in the effort to arrest the worsening haze emanating from southern Sumatra.

The mission involved a Bombardier CL415 MP and a AS365 N3 Dauphin helicopter belonging to MMEA as well as an RMAF Hercules C130 plane.