PM Plenkovic paid tribute to firefighters, army troops and volunteers that have been battling the blazes

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who on Tuesday morning chaired a session of emergency response teams in Split whose eastern outskirts were affected by disastrous fires on Monday, said that the blazes were brought under control to a large extent.

Plenkovic paid tribute to firefighters, army troops and volunteers that have been battling the blazes since early Monday morning and underscored that the system and emergency response teams had reacted properly and in a timely fashion. He dismissed some claims on social media networks about a chaotic situation.

The PM aid that certain lessons should be learnt from this fire that had spread from the outskirts to some inner suburbs of the second biggest Croatian city.

Several houses and barns, most of which are disused, and a few cars were engulfed by the flames and damage will be later estimated. The cause of the wildfires that consumed 4,500 hectares of pinewood and olive groves is still unknown.

During the night a strong gale abated and with the improving weather conditions, four firefighting planes and two air-tractors were included on Tuesday morning in operations aimed at containing the flames on the hills overlooking the biggest Croatian coastal city.

The head of the local emergency medical service told Hina on Tuesday morning that a total of 80 people received medical treatments in the last 24 hours, and most of them were exhausted firefighters. There were no serious injuries, and the concerned patients were mainly treated for having inhaled fumes.

Local authorities have been restoring electricity and water supplies to the affected suburbs.

Text: Hina

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