Lorena Rodriguez de la Torre
Lobios (Ourense), Mar 17 (EFE).- Vilameá, in Lobios (Ourense), has hosted this Friday a fair and heartfelt act of remembrance in memory of Jorge Manuel Santana (Portugal) and Maximiliano Plaza (Salamanca), who died in the summer of 2020 as a result of an accident in the seaplane that they were piloting in the tasks of extinction of a fire in the Sierra del Xurés, and of Santiago Durán (Seville), who died in 2022 when the cargo plane he was flying fell in the area of Penalty Trevinca.
The Galician association of professional forest agents Aprafoga has paid tribute to them and, by extension, to all those who fight to extinguish forest fires.
The emotional ceremony has had a triple aspect, on the one hand a floral offering, on the other the discovery of a plaque with the names of Jorge, Maximiliano and Santiago; and, finally, the placement of a sculpture full of symbolism by the artist Toño Monteiro, a disciple of the sculptor Xaime Quessada.
This applauded piece represents the figure of an airplane making a discharge of water and personnel on the ground trying to put out the flames.
Relatives, friends and colleagues of the three dead seaplane pilots have attended this call, together with forest firefighters from Galicia, other Portuguese, and representatives of the Xunta and the central government.
Félix Pérez de la Fuente, president of Aprafoga, has had some heartfelt words for those who leave their lives in each campaign, sometimes literally, unfortunately, in defense of natural heritage.
Maximiliano Sr. has not been able to contain his tears and, in a few words for EFE, has commented that although quotes like this recall things “that are not pleasant”, it is no less true that “you have to feel the love”. The same affection that the three of them and many others have abounded, they feel for a job “with a lot of vocation”, which “has a lot of risk”.
“Those who walk with the planes seem to be beings that no one knows and, on the other hand, without them knowing it, they have saved many lives,” he said. He addressed those who plant fires, in a small voice, to tell them that if they had “a little heart” they would not be able to do what “harms humans and the environment.”
At the gala itself, he has taken the floor to thank and emphasize that they are a “team”.
The general director of Defensa del Monte, Manuel Rodríguez, has commented that Galicia has “a debt of recognition” and a “debt of remembrance” towards these people. “We will never forget the names of all those who have died serving Galicia” in this battle, he stressed.
And to the three names, he has added those of Higinio, José Manuel, Íñigo, Rodrigo, Julio, Antonio, Tomás and Javier.
A representative of the Municipal Chamber of Ponte da Barca has intervened to transmit the “friendly and supportive word” of a “friendly people” for all those who, like Jorge Manuel, “gave their lives for the greater good, that of humanity”. .
Also present were representatives of the governing board of the Río Caldo mountain community, of the aerial means company for extinction, and of the Instituto de Conservaçao da Natureza e das Florestas.
In addition, the head of the natural heritage service, Antonio Rodríguez, the municipal corporation of the Lobios City Council, the headquarters of the XV Forest District and the sub-delegate of the Government in Ourense, Emilio González.