ZAGREB, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Croatia will send two firefighting airplanes in Greece to help them battle the blaze that has hit the country, Croatian defense minister Damir Krsticevic told reporters on Tuesday.

The decision was made in consultancy with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic who approved the use of two Canadair CL-415 aircraft of the Croatian Air Force. The government decided to offer Croatian armed forces to provide Greece humanitarian assistance.

At least 50 people have died in major fires that broke out near Athens recently. Last summer Croatia experienced similar unprecedented forest fire that surrounded Split, the second biggest city in the country.

This is not the first time for Croatia to help other countries. In 2016, Croatia helped Israel in extinguishing wildfires with the same two airplanes, while in 2017 Croatia sent help to put out wildfires in Italy.?