Four Days of the Universiade rehearsals completed in Kazan
As was reported earlier, a total of 40 competition venues were tested during the exercises as well as 3 non-competition venues – the Kazan International Airport, the Universiade Village and the Kazan Arena Stadium. Each rehearsal day featured a full-scale simulation of a certain day of the 2013 Summer Universiade, enabling the organisers and participants to understand the size and scope of the upcoming sporting event.
On June 22, at the Kazan Arena Stadium, where on July 6 the Summer Universiade will open, a comprehensive interagency exercise with the administration and forces of the territorial subsystem of the prevention and liquidation of emergency situations of the Republic of Tatarstan was conducted. The exercise was held under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan Asgat Safarov. According to the scenario, as a result of the 'collapse' of a building structure on the seventh floor of the West Stand, electrical cables shorted and there was a fire. Employees of the Emergency Situations Ministry of Russia in the Republic of Tatarstan, in cooperation with the guards and personnel on duty, evacuated spectators, athletes and performers from the stadium to a safe area.
Two canine teams from the local branch of the Volga Region Search-and-rescue Service arrived at the scene in order to search for live victims. With the help of the dogs – a 4-year old Bernese mountain dog and 2-year old Labrador retriever – a 'victim' was discovered, whom rescuers extracted from the 'rubble' with a hydraulic tool and then handed over to emergency room doctors.
The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Tatarstan organised a more intense security cordon on the stadium and sent additional forces to ensure law and order at the venue. Work was tested at the Ministry of Health Care of Tatarstan in the event of an emergency situation. A mobile complex of radiation and chemical monitoring detected the distribution of carbon monoxide and its concentration in the air in the Kazan Arena Stadium.
Among other things, during the evacuation of the stadium, an Mi-8 helicopter was used, which transported the Search-and-rescue Service of the Republic of Tatarstan with special equipment designed for boarding passengers onto the helicopter. For the provision of aviation services in response to potential emergencies during the Universiade, an aviation group was established by the Emergency Situations Ministry of Russia with two Mi-8 helicopters, a multipurpose BK-117 helicopter and a Be-200ES amphibious aircraft.
“Today the final phase of preparation of all the regional systems of warning and evacuation of emergency situations was conducted. This is the result of several years of the preparations for the Games. It involved all the structures, ministries and departments of the Republic of Tatarstan. I'd like to praise the confidence and reliability of all units that were involved in the exercises. Today, we saw a number of shortcomings that we will eliminate, as the time for the training of personnel still exists. The most difficult task is evacuation, which, according to the rules, must be carried out within eight minutes,” said Head of the Emergency Situations Ministry of Russia in the Republic of Tatarstan, Major-General of the internal service Rafis Khabibullin.
As we reported earlier, the first day of the Four Days of the Universiade exercises was held on June 8 and was held according to the schedule of 12 July. The exercises that were held on June 15 simulated the activities taking place on July 10, Day 4 of the Games. Training on June 21 was designed to work out the procedure for receiving guests, accreditation and accommodation of athletes as well as test the operation of the Religious Centre. In the Universiade Village, a rehearsal of the Team Welcome Ceremony was also held.