The 140 officers who are part of the Joint National Force that will help fight the fires in Canada departed this Wednesday from the military airport of Figo Maduro, in Lisbon, on a commercial flight that will make a stopover in Spain.
The Spanish contingent of 97 operators will travel with the Joint National Force (FOCON) on an aircraft that departed Lisbon at 9:20 am, with some delay compared to the scheduled time.
Canada is hit by a wave of major wildfires, with 140 Portuguese operators going to intervene in the province of Quebec.
FOCON and the Spanish Force will be present fighting the fires in Canada under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.
The Portuguese Force includes members of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, ANEPC’s Special Civil Protection Force (FEPC), GNR’s Emergency Protection and Relief Unit (UEPS), Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), elements from the Fire Departments of the Central Region and the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and from the National Institute of Medical Emergencies (INEM).
At the departure of the Portuguese elements, among others, the Minister of the Interior, José Luís Carneiro, was present.
At the ceremony, the minister recalled the recent missions of Portuguese forces in Turkey and Chile and referred to Canada as a country linked to Portugal by historical, social and cultural ties, and home to more than half a million Portuguese and Portuguese descendants.
The minister characterized this message as a mission of solidarity.
Source: DN
