Polish Helicopter Supports The Border Protection Operations In Hungary
Polish Border Guard deployed a single example of the PZL Kania helicopter to Hungary, in order to support the operations related to protection of the Hungarian border. Budapest is facing an immigration crisis, related to the wave of refugees coming from the Middle East. More than 300 thousand persons have crossed the Hungarian border illegally this year.
According to the information obtained by Defence24.pl from Lt. Col. Joanna Rokicka of the Polish Border Guard, deployment of the PZL Kania helicopter began on 4th October, and it is scheduled to last until 9th November. The operations involve nine Polish Border Guard officers, including eight helicopter crew-members (who are rotating in their role), along with a single liaison officer.
The mission undertaken by the Polish Border Guard is coordinated by the Frontex Agency which protects the external borders of the European Union. The scope of operations is going to cover, among other issues, support within the area of supervision of the borders. The helicopter is also going to provide assistance in realizing the patrol tasks.
Lt. Col. Joanna Rokicka noted it, in the announcement provided for Defence24.pl, that the PZL Kania helicopter involved in the operation is based at the base of the Bieszczady Unit of the Border Guard, and it is operated under the jurisdiction of the Border Management of the Border Guard’s Main Command. These helicopters are a part of the support operations, executed within the scope of protecting the Polish national border. The rotary-winged aircraft carry out specific tasks, depending on the ongoing needs.
Hungary is currently challenged with a wave of immigration, coming from Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan. The main goal of the immigrants is to reach the rich countries of the Western Europe, mainly Germany. Since the moment when a fence has been erected along the Serbian border, the immigrants are headed to Croatia, from where they are directed towards Hungary, by the local authorities. In total, 312,000 persons have illegally crossed the Hungarian Border. Only on Sunday, 5,900 persons have managed to get through. On Saturday, the border was crossed by more than 6 thousand persons.