Brigadistas of the Navy join forces to combat the outbreaks of fire in the islands of Paraná

07/19/2020 - 14:18

• Clarín.com
• Society

Two multipurpose ships and forestry brigade members of the Argentine Navy Marine Infantry Battalion joined the actions to fight the fire that causes damage in the islands of the Paraná river this Sunday , authorities reported.

At the request of the National Fire Management Plan, under the Ministry of National Security, as of this Sunday, the multipurpose ships ARA "Ciudad de Rosario" and "Ciudad de Zárate" arrived with the forest brigade members to end the burning grassland that takes several weeks. Since last Thursday a helicopter from the Argentine Army Aviation Command has been providing support in the area.

"Brigade members of the #ArmadaArgentina enlist at the Alvear #Rosario airfield and coordinate support activities to fight the fires on the nearby islands over the Paraná River," the official account of the Argentine Navy posted on Twitter.

Brigade members of the #ArmadaArgentina enlist at the Alvear #Rosario airfield and coordinate support activities to fight the fires on the nearby islands on the Paraná River. # LaArmadaDeLosArgentinos 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/FdbCT1jYNR

Before, the Ministry of Defense had done the same on the same social network: "The multipurpose ships ARA 'Ciudad de Rosario' and 'Ciudad de Zárate' and brigade members of the @Armada_Arg and @Ejercito_Arg join the operation to fight the fires in the area of ​​islands bordering the cities of #SantaFe, #Rosario and # SantoTomé ".

The multipurpose ships ARA "Ciudad de Rosario" and "Ciudad de Zárate" and brigade members of the @Armada_Arg and @Ejercito_Arg join the operation to fight the fires in the area of ​​islands adjacent to the cities of #SantaFe, #Rosario and # Saint tome. #UnamosNuestrasFuerzas pic.twitter.com/GKjmzc3TN8

Meanwhile, in the islands area of ​​the cities of Santa Fe and Santo Tomé, brigade members of the Engineer Battalion No. 1 Coronel Czetz Sappers of the Argentine Army, will carry out a similar task to suppress the outbreaks of fire.

The city of Rosario was invaded by smoke in the last week and the streets became unbreathable due to the fires that are presumed to have been intentional in the Delta. According to a local report, the smoke caused by fires on the islands contains a large number of polluting particles that are harmful to human health.

Last Saturday, a group of about  300 Rosario residents called and interrupted the transit of the Victoria-Rosario bridge , which connects the provinces of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos, to demand that they stop the intentional burning on the islands of the Paraná River Delta.

The neighbors also demanded that "the Wetlands Law be sanctioned and implemented to protect a key natural resource for the maintenance of the environment in the Pampas," said the representative of the NGO STS Rosario, Pablo Botta.

"The march arises from the satiety that has to get up in Rosario and breathe smoke, that's why we citizens call ourselves," he remarked. "The different organizations that joined the march have been working for years on a law to protect the wetland, but the indiscriminate burning, which until now seems like a provocation, made us take stronger measures," he said.

In this sense, he considered that "they appear to be direct attacks on the environment, without justification from the landowners."

"The private ones have to stop causing this damage and the States have to take responsibility for their inaction, that is why we ask for measures, so that it does not continue to happen," he concluded.