By the Order of the Government of the Russian Federation and in accordance with the request sent by the Government of Chile, the Russian Emergencies Ministry has sent an Ilyushin Il-76 plane to Chile, where due to hot weather and strong winds wildfires broke out in 6 constituents (Valparaiso, Santiago, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Maule, Bío Bío and La Araucanía).

The Ilyushin Il-76 plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry will undertake transcontinental flight with the total length of 15,000 kilometers from Moscow to Santiago. The jet will cross the airspace of 16 states, such as Belarus, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Brazil, etc with landings in Morocco, Cape Verde and Brazil.

The Russian plane will participate in putting out of major forest fires. The plane is rigged with water dumping equipment (VAP-2), capable of dumping of more than 42 tons of water. The Ilyushin Il-76 plane can create a 800-meter-long and 60-meter-wide water barrier covering 50,000 square meters. The plane, which was sent to Chile, bears the name of Slepnyov Mavriky Trofimovich – one of the first Heroes of the Soviet Union. He displayed his courage in rescue of ship crew Chelyuskin in 1934.

Crew of the Il-76 of the Russian Emergencies Ministry is trained to work in adverse conditions and has great experience in fighting wild fires, took part in mitigation of emergencies in the Russian Federation.

The Emergencies Ministry's plane is planned to be used to fight major wild fires and protect settlements, located in worst-hit areas.