Rescuers working to extinguish wildfire sparked by launched missile
The missile accidentally fired from a Spanish Eurofighter jet serving on the Baltic Air Policing mission on Tuesday sparked a wildfire in a bog in Jõgeva County, which rescuers continue to fight on Thursday.
Rescuers arrived at Jõgeva Municipality at 11:18 EEST on Wednesday to safeguard the operation seeking a missile accidentally fired by a Spanish Eurofighter jet in Tartu County on Tuesday.
A bog had caught fire in the search operation area, and rescuers were able to begin extinguishing it that evening. As the fire is deep in the turf, extinguishing work will continue on Thursday, the South Regional Rescue Centre said.
Rescuers will also continue searching for components of the missile, together with members of the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF).
Spanish Eurofighter accidentally fires missile
At 15:44 EEST on Tuesday, a Spanish Eurofighter serving on the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission accidentally fired an air-to-air AMRAAM type missile in Estonian airspace, six kilometres off the ground.
According to Commander of the Estonian Air Force Col. Riivo Valge, the Air Force was notified of the incident within a few minutes, and in the half hour to follow, the circumstances of the incident were reviewed. About an hour later, the Air Force forwarded its information to cooperation partners, including the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA).
Chief of Staff of the EDF Maj. Gen. Martin Herem said that the incident was very extraordinary, but at the same time, it is necessary to conduct these flights and that the fighters need to be armed, as otherwise there was no point in conducting them.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS
