TIRANA, August 4 /ATA/- Minister of Defense Niko Peleshi stated today from Dukat of Vlora that the fire situation in the regions of Vlora and Gjirokastra is improving and that all state structures are on the ground to enable the isolation and extinguishing every fire.
Speaking to reporters, Peleshi said that some neighboring countries, but also others have responded positively to our call for help to cope with the situation.
“We have sent a request for support to the European Center for Civil Emergencies. We have also asked for bilateral support from neighboring countries, but also from other countries. Today, we are expecting a team from the Netherlands to assess the situation and decide how much help they will bring us. The ambassador of Ukraine has also offered support,” said Minister Peleshi.
Peleshi also said that there are three helicopters in Vlora that are extinguishing the fires so as not to affect Llogara Park.
Speaking about the situation in Gjirokastra, Minister Peleshi said that yesterday the fire surrounded the village “Asim Zeneli” quickly, even favored by strong winds.
“Despite immediate intervention, unfortunately one resident lost his life while another was injured,” he said.
According to Peleshi, today we have a much calmer situation and the big fires are off.
“In Vlora, there was an emergency situation during the night in Pashaliman. We intervened with a very large number of forces, as well as with helicopters and firefighters, and we avoided the worst,” he said.
Minister Peleshi said that the fires in these areas were intentional.
According to him, the State Police has information that the fire was intentional and it has detained some citizens.
He appealed to the citizens to report any case of intentional arson attack, as well as to inform in real time about the fires, as this makes possible the intervention in time and with fewer consequences.
“Many experts think that this is a deliberate arson attack. This can be prevented only with the cooperation of citizens. It is impossible to manage all the fire spots in Albania at the same time, even with 3 helicopters. I think it is better to analyze how it is possible that so many fires are started at the same time. Several people have been detained. There is enough evidence to link the fires with concrete names and we will work in parallel,” he said./p.s./
