Over the summer, Bulgarian firefighters went to Russia to help quench massive wildfires ravaging the countryside. Photo by BGNES
A total of 90 Bulgarian firemen have departed overnight to Haifa, Israel, where a massive wildfire has already claimed at least 40 lives.
Thursday night the Interior Ministry announced some 90 Bulgarian firefighters will fly off to Israel at the order of PM Boyko Borisov. Later, the Ministry said the operation was called off but the firemen did leave for Israel eventually.
The massive fire in Haifa went out of control Thursday afternoon, claiming the lives of dozens and forcing the evacuation of many Israelis. A total of 40 prison guards perished in the fire as their bus crashed.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu requested help for putting out the fire from four countries, including Bulgaria.