Prabowo deploys 1,000 officers and special teams for Sumsel fires
The government is also adding water-bombing helicopters, 20 excavators, and 500 pumps and hoses to extinguish 1,900 hectares still burning.
President Prabowo Subianto is deploying 1,000 TNI and Polri officers to the region to strengthen efforts to prevent forest and land fires in Sumatera Selatan. At a meeting on handling karhutla in Palembang on Monday, Prabowo also asked the TNI to prepare special teams to reach fire points that are difficult for ground forces to access. TNI Commander Agus Subiyanto said the personnel could include freefall, paramotor and fast roping teams. To speed up firefighting, the government is adding water-bombing helicopters, 20 excavators to reinforce canals, and 500 pumps and hoses using water from drilled wells. Prabowo is targeting the remaining 1,900 hectares of burning land to be extinguished soon and asked that field obstacles be reported immediately. At the same meeting, Tito Karnavian proposed education efforts and legal warnings for residents who commonly clear land by burning.