MOSCOW. Jan 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The 847th Rescue Center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, based in Voronezh, has been awarded The Best Unit challenge pennant of the Russian Emergencies Minister, Colonel Viktor Beltsov, an official of the Russian Emergencies Ministry Public Relations Directorate, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday.
"The 847th Rescue Center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry, based in Voronezh, has been awarded the Emergencies Minister's Best Unit pennant for its work in 2003. The center merited the honor for its participation in natural disaster relief operations, and other emergencies," Beltsov said.
According to him, officers of the 847th Rescue Center, headed by Colonel Igor Panin, participated in suppressing forest fires near the village of Shilovo in the Voronezh region in summer 2003. In autumn 2003 a joint unit, tailored by the center, took part in the disaster relief operation in the wake of the largest logistics route accident in the villages of Sobinka and Lakinsk in the Vladimir region. Besides, last year the center also provided fuel to convoys, heading to the Southern Federal District and carrying humanitarian cargo.
"In November the center was inspected by the Russian Security Council's commission and was evaluated highly," Beltsov said.
The 847th Rescue Center dates back to 1965, when an independent mechanized civil defense regiment, which was later on re-deployed to Voronezh, was established in the town of Uman in the Lipetsk region.
The center's personnel have mastered the whole scope of rescue operations and other emergency-related missions, carried out in disaster-stricken areas, as well as in the course of suppressing large-scale forest and peat fires, disposing of explosives, and restoring public utilities, Beltsov said.