Ndudi Anyim
Two Oryx helicopters from the Air Force Base Ysterplaat, 22 Squadron has assisted to put off raging fires at the Table Mountain in Cape Town, Western Cape Province.
It was gathered that a distress call by the Provincial Disaster Management (PDM) was made to the Air Force on Tuesday, to assist in extinguishing raging fires in and around the Table Mountain areas.
According to authorities, “the aircrew attacked the blazing fires from the North East of the Mountain towards Vredehoek through to the North Western side of the mountain. Approximately 103 Bambi buckets and 206,000 litres of water were dropped.
“The aircrew flew a total of 9.4 hours using almost 3,552 litres of fuel. The two Oryx helicopters landed safely at the Base at 13:35 but remained on standby until 18:00. The initial call from PDM came on Monday, April 19.
“However, the operation could not be effectively executed due to unfavourable weather conditions (strong wind).”
The SA Air Force Board has also commended Air Force Base Ysterplaat, especially the involved aircrew from 22 Squadron, for their prompt response to the national call.