Antara News·Indonesia·Friday, November 6, 2026 at 02:43 PM UTC

Australian aircraft begins firefighting operation in Samarinda: BNPB

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M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that aircraft provided through Australia’s international assistance for Indonesia’s forest and land fire response began operating in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Friday.

BNPB's Acting Head for Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Berton Panjaitan, on Friday said that an Australian Hercules C-130 aircraft was conducting aerial firefighting operations in the area and had finished three water bombings as of 3:00 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB).

"Prior to the operation, the team held a briefing in the morning to determine the firefighting targets. Two fire hotspots were identified near residential areas and were the top priority," he explained.

According to him, aerial firefighting operations targeted hotspots near residential areas to prevent fires from directly endangering public safety.

After completing each sortie, the aircraft required approximately 20 minutes to refuel before resuming its mission.

Previously, BNPB and the Australian Government had prepared one Hercules C-130 aircraft as a Large Air Tanker with a capacity of up to 15,000 liters of water per sortie, and one Cessna Citation aircraft as a guide aircraft.

This partnership operation involved 20 specialist aviation personnel from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS), including pilots and support crew.

The Hercules aircraft is expected to carry out up to six sorties per day, with the air support operation scheduled to run for one week, from November 6 to 12, 2026.

Panjaitan said his office continues to intensify coordination with the Australian team and relevant agencies on the ground to ensure the effectiveness of firefighting operations, particularly in reaching hotspots close to residential areas.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Rod Brazier earlier said the aid was a follow-up to discussions between Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, Dudung Abdurachman, and Australian Minister of Home Affairs, Tony Burke, regarding possible support to address forest and land fires.

The collaboration is part of the long-standing friendship between the two countries, which have helped each other in disaster mitigation.

In 2020, he noted, Australia also received assistance from BNPB and the Indonesian military during forest fires.

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