video transcript

Serbia evacuated thousands of villagers on Saturday (August 25) and called up the army to help fight wildfires raging unabated through the drought-hit western Balkans. Fires near the southwestern Serbian town of Cacak swept through hillsides and cornfields dried to a crisp by scorching temperatures, forcing the evacuation of three villages. Russia sent a Beriev Be-200 fire-fighting plane, with a capacity of 12 tonnes, to join a Russian helicopter that has been in action for days trying to douse the fires. Late Saturday Serbia asked Russia to send one more plane to join the firefight. The state news agency had Tanjug reported three people had been hurt trying to battle the flames, including one fire-fighter, but it did not specify how seriously. The western Balkans is in a heatwave that has seen temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), triggering hundreds of wildfires.