AKIPRESS.COM - The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe completed a capacity-building training course on avalanche safety for 20 representatives of Tajikistan’s Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defence on 17 March 2023. The two-week course aimed at enhancing the rescuers’ skills and capacities in the area of search and rescue operations in an avalanche area as well as the recovery of victims after an avalanche in challenging winter conditions, OSCE said.

The training course covered topics such as identification of snow properties, causes of avalanche formation, factors affecting the degree of avalanche danger, methods for determining the degree of avalanche danger, search and rescue operations in an avalanche area, and first aid for an avalanche victim.

Theoretical sessions were held in the training facility of the Committee in the Varzob district and practical sessions were conducted in the avalanche danger zones at the Ushtur and Maikhura passes of the Varzob district. Local experts from the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe and the Committee delivered the course.

“On behalf of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, I would like to express my appreciation to all the participants for their active participation and valuable contributions to the avalanche safety course. Your commitment and enthusiasm ensured the success of our training,” said Ilgar Ibrahimli, Senior Executive Officer at the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe. “I extend my sincere gratitude to the European Union for their financial support and fruitful co-operation with the Programme Office in organizing this training course for Tajik rescuers.”

The event was conducted as part of the OSCE’s project on the Stabilization of Tajikistan’s southern borders with Afghanistan, funded by the European Union. The project aims to strengthen the professional capacities of both Tajikistan’s Border Troops and the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense to tackle illicit activities in border regions and respond to natural disasters.