From 25 to 27 July, the Republic of Serbia hosted an international exercise of rescue services “Serbia 2019”. The purpose of these exercises was to demonstrate readiness to jointly deal with modern threats and emergencies. More than 500 rescuers from Russia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Hungary, Turkey and Cuba took part in them.
According to the plan of the exercises, 7 magnitude tremors were recorded on the territory of a number of states of the Balkan Peninsula. The epicenter is the city of Nis. The consequences of an earthquake are devastating: building collapses, traffic accidents, fires, human casualties. The necessary services went to help, and the international group immediately began to eliminate the emergency.
The Russian-Armenian Center of Humanitarian Response took part in the exercises, using unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and assessment of the emergency zone, as well as for coordinating the actions of fire and rescue services. Among other things, orthophotography was carried out and three-dimensional models of training points were created, live video broadcasting was provided using UAVs from all objects, which showed the high technical training and professionalism of the center’s employees.
The exercise was supervised by First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia Alexander Chupriyan and State Secretary of the Republic of Serbia Miloslav Milickovic.
“I can safely say that the tasks set have been completed, professional skills have been demonstrated. The training of rescuers meets all standards,” said Alexander Chupriyan. The Deputy Minister also noted the importance of field international exercises, which are accompanied by the transfer of the necessary forces and means, the transportation of goods and equipment.
“To cope with large-scale emergencies alone is difficult, so mobilization and attraction of international resources is required. Therefore, it is so important that neighboring countries, such as Hungary, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and others, having taken part in these exercises, demonstrated solidarity and readiness to jointly counter a variety of threats,” – stressed the First Deputy Head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. p>
Supporting international contacts with foreign “emergency” services is important for building up interaction, open dialogue and readiness to build long-term cooperation.
