Soldiers from the Army’s 6th Engineering and Construction Battalion (6th BEC) work even during the night to plug the holes and complete the renovation of the runway at the Surucucu airfield, inside the Yanomami Indigenous Land. The renovation is crucial so that the runway, with a length of 1,100 meters, can allow the landing of cargo aircraft. “This runway will make humanitarian action work for the Yanomami feasible. The cargo planes still cannot land because of these holes. Our great difficulty is bringing heavier materials here, including machinery”, explains Sergeant Fragoso. The report by Agência Brasil closely followed the work last Friday (10). There are two shifts: in the morning, when the weather is usually still cloudy and smaller aircraft are unable to land, and at night. In the afternoon, the runway has priority to receive planes that bring supplies and remove patients to Boa Vista. Renovation is a little slow precisely because of the lack of more appropriate equipment, such as resurfacing machines, for example. And even the transport of asphalt mass in large quantities in small aircraft is compromised due to the weight. On the job, the military uses shovels, pickaxes and dirt. The central lane of the runway has already been practically completely renovated, but technicians assessed that the shoulders also need recovery. The government intends to arrive at the site with cargo aircraft, such as the C-105 of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) or even the KC-390. Maintenance of the runway at the Surucucu airport in the Yanomami Indigenous Land – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil No deadline There is still no deadline for completion, the renovation of the runway will allow for the future installation of a field hospital at the base pole, which will handle cases of medium complexity between indigenous peoples, reducing the volume of air travel to Boa Vista. In addition, the government intends to supply the water supply by drilling artesian wells and building cisterns, which also depends on the displacement of suitable machinery for the works. In addition to having an asphalted runway for takeoffs and landings, the base pole at Surucucu is home to the 4th Border Platoon (PEF) of the Brazilian Army. Over there, the only form of access between different communities is exclusively by air. The airfield is almost 300 km from Boa Vista, in just over 1 hour of flight over dense forest.
Agência Brasil
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