By Jo McMullen / KVSC reporter

Members of the St. Cloud-based B company of the Air National Guard are helping with flooding near Pembina, North Dakota.

This morning five soldiers left in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter to provide heavy-lift support in the flooding north of Grand Forks.

Army Colonel Gregory Fix says their mission is to move two, 10,000 pound pumps closer to the Bourbanis Dam on the Red River. He adds the Chinook has the capacity to lift loads greater than 10,000 pounds. Fix says this crew recently returned from being deployed to Iraq and Kuwait where they provided aerial movement of troops and supplies.

Minnesota has an agreement to support North Dakota and other states through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. The mission is expected to be done Friday night.