BRUSSELS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The European Union has deployed firefighting aircraft, personnel and equipment to France and Spain as ongoing wildfires have displaced more than 300,000 people and prompted one of Europe's largest evacuation operations, the European Commission said Monday.
The assistance was mobilized through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Seven planes and four helicopters from the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden and Türkiye have been deployed to France, while six planes from Greece, Italy and Türkiye, along with 134 personnel and 41 vehicles from Portugal, have been sent to Spain.
The EU's Copernicus satellite service is also providing emergency maps to support response operations.
Firefighting teams from other European countries had already been stationed in France and Spain before the fires as part of the EU's wildfire preparedness measures, allowing them to reinforce national emergency services quickly, said the European Commission. ■