Three Serbian citizens are suspected of setting fire to a forest in Austria that they were previously reforesting. Namely, it is suspected that a discarded cigarette is the cause of the forest fire in the Lesach Valley in Carinthia, which broke out seven days ago and spread over an area of 110 hectares, and three workers, all Serbian citizens, are being held as suspects.
As the police announced, the place of the fire’s origin was identified as an area on the Ksaveriberg mountain in the Promegen forest. Forestry workers were performing reforestation work there last Thursday and are now considered suspects, according to Nezavisne.
Witness statements and aerial footage led investigators to the place of the fire’s origin.
“It was determined that the cause of the fire was, with high probability, actually the improper extinguishing of cigarettes by forestry workers during the performance of reforestation work,” the police report states.
The suspects are three Serbian citizens who are accused of causing a fire through negligence. The extent of the damage has not yet been determined. The State Criminal Police Administration is conducting a further investigation.
Firefighters still continue to fight the remaining smaller fires, which break out randomly.
During the firefighting operation, as many as 150 firefighters participated, and a drone equipped with a thermal imaging camera was also deployed to locate further hotspots and then extinguish them in a targeted manner.
Units from Wolfsberg and Völkermarkt also came to the aid of local firefighters. Three helicopters were involved in the firefighting efforts.
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Source: Telegraf; Photo: Pexels