A team of rescuers from the Uzbek Ministry of Emergency Situations took honorary third place in a tough competition, the 12th international contest on rescue operations among the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states. The contest was held as part of the international Kazspas-2007 [Kazakh rescuer] exercise and seminar.

A total of 32 teams from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Russia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan competed for the strongest rescuer’s title, Narodnoye Slovo reported. The competition included five types of exercises: search-and-rescue work in man-made disaster conditions, in the natural environment and water, a relay on rough terrain and complex exercises on a horizontal bar.

"Next year we will try to improve this result," Col Zarif Toshboyev, head of the Uzbek delegation and head of a directorate at the Ministry of Emergency Situations, says.

"We have now gained the necessary experience and knowledge," he said.