A Croatian Air Force helicopter was sent to Slovenia on Thursday to help put out a wildfire in the Renski Vrh area near the western city of Nova Gorica close to Slovenia's border with Italy, the Defense Ministry said in a press release.

Croatia had earlier dispatched a firefighting plane to the area on Wednesday, which dropped 48 tons of water on the fire-affected area, the unsigned press release said.

Defense Minister, Mario Banozic, thanked the pilots and firefighters for “their contribution to the efforts to protect the lives and properties of our neighbors and friends.”

The plane and the helicopter were sent based on Slovenia’s request via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.