TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the Head of Information and Public Relation at the National Board of Disaster Management, stated that one thousand Indonesian Armed Forces members and four choppers have been deployed to provide help in extinguishing forest fires in Riau. Previously, the government has deployed 2,000 personnel from the army, marine, and air force.
Sutopo explained that the additional personnel will locate and pinpoint the hot spots that are going to be water bombed.
Balthasar Kambuaya, the Minister of Environment, suggested that there are currently eight Malaysian companies suspected to cause the incident.
FEBRIANA FIRDAUS