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Rescuers practice on Sozh River in coping with spring floods

A team of emergency management officers on March 25 staged an exercise on the Sozh River in Homyel to practice in the management of spring floods.

The exercise scenario involved a response to a critical increase in the water level caused by rising temperatures, Ruslan Habrylyow, spokesman for the regional emergency management department, told BelaPAN.

A helicopter and an all-terrain vehicle arrived at the scene to tackle the water flooding the riverbed, he said.
Explosive devices were used to break the ice and an icebreaker was involved in the exercise.

The team practiced in rescuing a group of tourists caught in a flood. The helicopter was used to save a fisher trapped on an ice slab and divers recovered a driver whose car fell under the ice.

Emergency Management Minister Enver Baryyew, who arrived in the Homyel region on March 24, observed the training.