| Mountain Rescue - ABOUT MRS |
About the MRS
Having started its work as a small group of enthusiasts, today the Mountain Rescue Service is an important unit in the Bulgarian Red Cross structure aimed at reducing the number of accidents in the mountains. During the time of their regular duty hours, the mountain rescuers, all volunteers, render aid to victims of mountain accidents; they carry out complex rescue operations, and transport the victims from places hard to access, to a hospital.
The effective preventive work is an important element of the overall rescue activity. The Mountain Rescue Service provides daily information to the central and local media on weather situation in the mountains, this information being of great interest to skiers and tourists. School children are given general knowledge about safe behaviour in the mountains.
History
The Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) was created in November 1933 by members of the Bulgarian Alpine Club, the Bulgarian Mountaineering Union, the Youth Mountaineering Union and the Sofia Ski Club. In 1938 the first "Internal Rules of MRS" were adopted and in 1943 the first badge of the MRS was introduced - a green cross with an edelweiss.
After the War the first mountain rescue teams were created outside the capital - in Samokov, 1948 and Plovdiv, 1949. Following a decision of the Bulgarian Mountaineering Union, the Red Cross, the Sports Federation and the MRS, the latter moved under the auspices of the Bulgarian Red Cross in 1951.
In 1971 the MRS was accepted as a member of the International Kommision for Alpine Rescue (IKAR).
During the period 1971-1980 one of the main goals was the modernization of the mountain rescue in Bulgaria. The training of avalanche rescue dogs was initiated in 1974 and the beginning of helicopter rescue was set in 1975
You could receive more information about MRS from the Web Site of the MRS.
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