Forest Fire Rages in Brazil
COPYRIGHT 2001 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
August 25, 2001
RIO DE JANEIRO, August 24 - Firefighters, policemen and environmentalists are battling a forest fire in Pantanal, Brazil, and one of the planes dousing the blaze crashed, killing the pilot.
The fire, which has destroyed 30,000 hectares of woods, is still raging in an area of 60,000 hectares of forests, fueled by the dry weather. The pilot died when his low-flying plane hit a nearby hill after pouring 2,500 liters of water over the fires below on Thursday, and his aide aboard the plane was seriously injured. Several planes were dousing flames at the time.
Most of the forest fires are caused by the burning of grass and bushes on wasteland by local farmers.
Severe punishments will now be meted out to those who reclaim wasteland by setting fire to grass and bushes. Violators will be charged with destroying the ecology and fined heavily.
Pantanal is a nature reserve named by the United Nations. It is a world-famous swampland with beautiful scenery and home to varied species of flora and fauna.