In Indonesia's Riau province, blazes are back as fire proves to be a hard habit to break

This picture taken on Aug 21, 2019 shows an Indonesian firefighter battling a forest fire in Pekanbaru, Riau in Indonesia. PHOTO: AFP
New: Gift this subscriber-only story to your friends and family

PEKANBARU - In the village of Kemang, about 60km from the Riau's provincial capital Pekanbaru, a lone firefighting helicopter water bombs a stubborn blaze which is into its second day.

In tight one-minute circuits, the pilot of the Bell 214 - a descendant of the Huey helicopters used by the United States during the Vietnam War - dumps water from the murky Nilo River 600 litres at a time.

Already a subscriber? 

Read the full story and more at $9.90/month

Get exclusive reports and insights with more than 500 subscriber-only articles every month

Unlock these benefits

  • All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com

  • Easy access any time via ST app on 1 mobile device

  • E-paper with 2-week archive so you won't miss out on content that matters to you

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.