Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic has announced that the massive wildfire that broke out on August 2 near the village of Sumarak in the Deliblato Sands nature reserve has been fully extinguished after 52 days of firefighting operations.

In a statement, Dacic said firefighters and rescue teams, together with members of volunteer fire brigades and other emergency services, succeeded in bringing one of the largest and most intense wildfires in Serbia's recent history under control.

"Firefighters and rescue teams, with the assistance of members of the Volunteer Fire Brigade Associations and other relevant forces, managed to extinguish the fire in the Deliblato Sands area. I am especially proud that while fighting one of the largest and most severe fires in Serbia's recent history, not a single life was lost and not a single building was destroyed," Dacic said.

Large-scale firefighting operation

Dacic said the operation lasted 52 days under extremely difficult weather conditions and across inaccessible terrain, requiring close coordination between Serbian emergency services and international partners.

At the height of the operation, more than 560 personnel from various services, supported by 170 vehicles, a firefighting boat and heavy machinery, were deployed to battle the blaze.

He added that emergency services handled between 100 and 150 interventions on some of the busiest days, underscoring the scale of the response.

International support

The Serbian minister thanked firefighting teams from Romania, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia for assisting in efforts to extinguish the wildfire.

The Deliblato Sands, often referred to as the "European Sahara," is a protected nature reserve in southeastern Serbia and one of Europe's largest inland sand areas. The prolonged wildfire highlighted the vulnerability of the reserve to increasingly hot and dry weather conditions, while experts say the recovery of parts of the affected ecosystem could take years.

The successful conclusion of the operation marks the end of one of Serbia's longest and most demanding wildfire emergencies in recent years. (ILKHA)