Spanish soldiers from three UME battalions come to the aid of Portugal

Following the dispatch of two firefighting aircraft from the 43 Group to Portugal, yesterday Spain activated new aid for our sister country.

Wave of messages of gratitude from Portugal for the Spanish aviators of the 43rd Group
The images of the Spanish soldiers of the UME who have fought the fire in Chile

The terrible wave of forest fires that Portugal is suffering today keeps dozens of active outbreaks in the center and north of the country, with some roads still closed. These fires are making aerial operations against the fire difficult due to the large amount of smoke generated, according to André Fernandes, national commander of Civil Protection of Portugal.

To assist Portugal in the face of this disaster, this Tuesday at 11:22 p.m. CET the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME) announced its deployment in Portugal, with units from the First (BIEM I) and Fifth Emergency Intervention Battalions (BIEM V) from Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) and León. Here we can see the BIEM I vehicles leaving Torrejón Air Base:

Unidades del Primer y Quinto Batallón de Intervención en Emergencias de la #UME salen desde sus bases de Torrejón de Ardoz y de León para colaborar en las labores de extinción de los incendios forestales que asolan Portugal 🇪🇸🤝 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/HkkY4KxJEo

— UME (@UMEgob) September 17, 2024

This Wednesday, at 13:07 CET, the Spanish Ministry of Defense has announced that 248 soldiers and 82 vehicles of the UME are already fighting the fire in Portugal. The UME has announced that it has been deployed in the municipality of São Pedro do Sul, in the district of Viseu, in the north of Portugal. Here we can see a video showing these Spanish soldiers in action:

Las unidades de la @UMEgob ya están desplegadas en Portugal, colaborando en la extinción de incendios forestales en #Corbertinha. Con 248 militares y 82 medios, trabajan en el ataque directo para defender a la población. 🇪🇸🤝🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/yUAIP7lk7p

— Ministerio Defensa (@Defensagob) September 18, 2024

+ UPDATED 23:15h: The UME has announced that a third battalion is joining this deployment: the Second Emergency Intervention Battalion (BIEM II). Here we can see the vehicles of this unit leaving this afternoon from its base in Morón de la Frontera (Seville):

🔥#IFPortugal

Unidades del Segundo Batallón de Intervención en Emergencias #BIEM2 salen de su base en #Morón #Sevilla para sumarse al dispositivo #UME en Portugal🇵🇹.

Durante la tarde, los militares👨‍🚒 del #BIEM1 y #BIEM5 han estado trabajando en la zona de #Cobertinha… pic.twitter.com/kdUn2oTD2n

— UME (@UMEgob) September 18, 2024

+ UPDATED 19.9.2024 19:09h: The UME announces that it already has 364 soldiers and 116 vehicles deployed in Portugal. Here you can see a video published today showing their fight against the fire:

🔥 #IFPortugal

364 militares👨‍🚒 y 116 medios🚒de tres Batallones de Intervención en Emergencias #BIEM (Madrid, Sevilla y León) continúan trabajando en apoyo de nuestro pueblo hermano, Portugal.

Para poder llevar a cabo las misiones de dirección y coordinación de este gran… pic.twitter.com/vE2KHnvzVP

— UME (@UMEgob) September 19, 2024

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The UME has published a series of photos of this deployment on Flickr. You can see some of them below.

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Photos: Unidad Militar de Emergencias / EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid.