Live Reporting
By Clare Spencer
Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC Amharic, Addis Ababa
Please save simien mountains! 1:28 AM – Apr 15, 2019 See lemlem Tafere’s other Tweets Twitter Ads info and privacy
A Kenyan firefighter helicopter has been throwing water over a huge blaze which has been raging in Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains National Park – a Unesco world heritage site famous for its endangered foxes, goats and baboons.
It was deployed after Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed asked for international help to extinguish the fire which has been raging for about a week.
The 220 sq-km (84 sq-miles) park in Ethiopia’s highlands is sometimes called the “Roof of Africa” as it forms the largest continuous area of elevation on the continent.
Ethiopia’s ministry of culture and tourism spokesman Gezahegn Abate told the BBC that the helicopter did five rounds on Sunday, throwing water on the inferno. It will continue doing so today.
Mr Gezahegn said an Israeli team of experts also arrived on Sunday to offer advise on how to contain the fire, and prevent similar incidents in future.
Israel’s ambassador to Ethiopia tweeted that strong winds could cause the fire to spread:
After a briefing in Debark on the wildfires in Simien Mountain by the Amhara region authorities, the #israeli firefighters expert team went to asses the situation on the ground. Strong winds may further blaze new forests and make the task of the team particularly challenging. 63 9:51 AM – Apr 14, 2019 23 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy
Ethiopia’s government is convinced that the fire – the second one this month – is “man-made” and an investigation is under way to establish who is behind it, Mr Gezahegn told the BBC.
The government has not yet determined the extent of damage caused by the fire on wildlife, but “we think none of the endemic animals were killed,” he said.
According to Unesco, the park is home to rare animals such as the Gelada baboon, the Simien fox and the Walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else in the world.
Amhara Mass Media Agency
A fire a few weeks ago had caused widespread destructionImage caption: A fire a few weeks ago had caused widespread destruction.