“Refusal to evacuate“: Emergency Ministry highlights key challenge for rescuers

Tengrinews.kz - One of the biggest challenges for Kazakh rescuers during severe weather conditions is that many drivers refuse to evacuate, according to Aslan Uakishev, Deputy Head of the Emergency Situations Ministry's Emergency Response Department.

Speaking at a briefing at the Central Communications Service, Uakishev was asked about areas where the Emergency Ministry's response system could be improved.

"The biggest difficulty arises when drivers refuse to evacuate because their vehicles are stuck in difficult areas (...) They don’t want to leave and insist that we tow their vehicles to safety. But if we focus on pulling out every single vehicle, we won’t have enough time to rescue people who are in truly dangerous situations," he explained.

According to him, emergency responders are not authorized to retrieve vehicles from snowdrifts.

"We cannot tow vehicles—we are only authorized to rescue and evacuate people who are in danger," Uakishev added.

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