August 2, 2021: according to the Russian embassy in Ankara, Turkey, Russian multipurpose amphibians BE-200ES, produced by
Beriev in Taganrog, are to combat a major forest fire within the province of Antalya.
As indicated in the embassy's statement, "three Russian Be-200 firefighting aircraft are providing assistance to Turkey in the regions where firefighting efforts are underway on the ground and from the air". The diplomatic mission was hopeful that "the forest fire in southern Turkey will be extinguished shortly so that it causes the least damage possible."
The fire broke out on July 28 near Manavgat, which is a resort town. The disaster was caused by extreme weather conditions. Turkey declared that three people have died and 122 have been injured since the disaster began.
The interest for the Taganrog-made machine started at the
14th International Aviation and Space Show MAKS-2019, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan got acquainted with modern models of Russian aviation technologies, including the multi-purpose amphibious aircraft Be-200, and
September 10, 2019 Turkish delegation led by the Minister of Agriculture & Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli (PhD) and Turkish Ambassador to Russia Mehmet Samsar visited the production site of
Beriev Aircraft Company in Taganrog, manufacturer's service center, Be-200 trainer flight simulator and participated in the talks regarding on eventual sales of Be-200 amphibians to Turkey.
It is noteworthy that BE-200ES had already been engaged in fire-fighting missions in Turkey in
2019 and
2020.