Rescuers from the Vitebsk region, Lithuania, and Latvia held joint operational-tactical exercises
In the morning of February 13, an emergency occurred in the area of the settlement of Ventsy. Here, at the underwater crossing of the Surgut – Polotsk oil pipeline across the Western Dvina River, the pipeline was damaged due to ground subsidence at the 448.5th kilometer. As a result, there was an oil leak. The flammable liquid quickly spread along the Western Dvina River and reached the territory of the Republic of Latvia. The threat of a transboundary man-made emergency was obvious. Fortunately, it was fictional.
According to this scenario, operational-tactical exercises were held for rescuers from Vitebsk region, Lithuania, and Latvia. This international event was held within the framework of the project LLB-1-057 "Creation of a joint response system for accidents related to the spill of hazardous chemicals and oil into the Western Dvina River (Daugava) during the winter period", funded by the European Union.
Methods of interaction between management bodies and republican systems for the prevention and liquidation of emergency situations of Utena County of the Republic of Lithuania, Vitebsk region, Latgale region of the Republic of Latvia, and the republican special-purpose detachment of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus were practiced for the localization and liquidation of emergency situations.
The actions took place at two training sites: on the Western Dvina near the settlement of Uzmeny, Miory district, and in Daugavpils, Latgale region (Latvia).
124 people and 27 units of equipment were involved, and environmental chemical control posts operated within and outside the contaminated zone.
The international exercises concluded successfully. The simulated incident was neutralized. The environmental situation remained normal.
At the end of the program, the equipment and emergency rescue gear of the units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus, the State Fire and Rescue Service of the Republic of Latvia, the Department of Fire Safety and Rescue under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as the emergency repair units, organizations, and agencies of the three countries involved in the exercises were demonstrated.