The Search and Rescue Service (SRS) of the EMERCOM of Russia celebrates its 30th anniversary

By Cristiano Antonino On Jul 31, 2022

The Search and Rescue Service (SRS) was established on July 28, 1992, when 35 tourist and mine rescue services, centers became part of the State Committee for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters

The search and rescue service (SRS) of the EMERCOM of Russia is based on regional search and rescue formations

They include a search and rescue service in the water area, a search canine service, a medical support service for search and rescue operations, a service for conducting special and especially dangerous work, as well as rescuer training centers

Today, there are 2,590 certified rescuers in the SRS, a third of which have the highest qualifications – international and 1st class rescuers

In 2021, they carried out 18.7 thousand rescue operations, rescued more than 11 thousand people.

The most important function of the Search and Rescue Service of the EMERCOM of Russia is the work with children and preventive measures.

The regional SRS have modern equipment and technical means of rescue, allowing them to work in modern conditions and in any situation

Rescuers are trained in 5 Rescue Training Centers that have licenses for educational activities and train more than 900 specialists a year in 35 areas.

One of these centers is the Rescue Training Centers named after A.I. Stepanov.

This center is a part of the Baikal Search and Rescue Unit of the Russian Emergencies Ministry.

A special role is given by the Vytegra Arctic Rescue Training and Research Center (ASSC Vytegra), which trains specialists for work in the Arctic.

One of the components of the SRS of the EMERCOM of Russia are the Arctic Integrated Emergency Rescue Centers

At present, 7 centers have already been established (in the cities of Naryan-Mar, Dudinka, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Vorkuta, Yakutsk and “Vytegra” Center). The total number of Arctic rescue units is 511 people.

A large number of the most visited places for extreme recreation and mountain tourism are located in the North Caucasus.

Thus, more than 3.9 thousand tourist groups with a total number of about 33 thousand people are registered in the North Caucasian SRS during the year.

On Elbrus in the village. Terskol is based on the Elbrus Highland Search and Rescue Unit of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, which provides security on the mountain tourist routes of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.

Since the beginning of this year alone, 45 people have been rescued by the detachment.

Over 10 years, employees of the Southern Regional Search and Rescue Unit (SRSRU) have rescued more than 30 thousand people.

The main tasks of the SRSRU are search in mountainous and wooded areas, rendering assistance at water bodies, including with the use of equestrian and canine crews.