Swiss Army to the rescue

ROSSINIERE, Switzerland: Swiss army helicopters have begun airlifting water to thousands of thirsty cows suffering in a drought and heatwave that has hit much of Europe.

Large red plastic containers hung from the bottom of the Super Puma helicopters carrying the water to farms in the Jura Mountains and Alpine foothills.

Some 40,000 cows grazed in the summertime in highaltitude pastures in Vaud canton in western Switzerland and each needed up to 150 litres of water a day, authorities said.

Two large basins had been filled with water to allow farmers with land accessible by road to fill up their tank trucks, they said.

Several dozen farmers have called a special hotline to request help from the helicopters since the emergency operation was announced last week.

‘‘I’ve been renting this pasture for 13 years now. We had to airlift water sometimes but never that much,’’ Gregoire Martin, who runs a farm with 68 cows and 90 head of young cattle at Le Culand pasture in Rossiniere, said.

‘‘We already used the army’s helicopter two years ago but in the long term we cannot go on like this,’’ he said.

Switzerland would cut import tariffs on livestock feed and offer interestfree loans to help farmers deal with drought, the federal government said this week, amid a heat wave that is killing off fish in the Rhine.

‘‘The situation is very worrying because Switzerland has not known a drought like that . . . since 1921,’’ said Philippe Leuba, head of economy and sport for Vaud. — Reuters