Gujranwala Team Win 12th National Rescue Challenge

The team of Gujranwala won the 12th National Rescue Challenge (NRC)-2023 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa South was declared runner-up.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 7th Oct, 2023) The team of Gujranwala won the 12th National Rescue Challenge (NRC)-2023 and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa South was declared runner-up.

The Gujranwala Rescue Team competed with 19 teams from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Elite Police, University of Lahore, Alkhidmat Foundation, Rescue Scouts of Sialkot and participated in Trauma & Medical Emergency Challenge, Fire-Fit Challenge, Water Rescue Challenge, Deep Well Rescue Challenge, Swimming Challenge and Height Rescue Challenge. The team performed as per the international standards of emergency management in difficult emergency scenarios and situations. Furthermore, the team of Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa South won second position in the 12th National Rescue Challenge 2023.

Individual performers of each event were also evaluated and Trauma Challenge was won by District Emergency Medical Team Gujranwala, while the Fire Fit Rescue Challenge was won by Hunain from Gujranwala. The Lead Fire Rescue Challenge was won by Sohail Ahmad from KPK South, Haseeb Choudhary from the University of Lahore won Swimming Challenge; M. Awais from KPK South won the Water Rescue (SCUBA Challenge); the team of Rescue Service Gujranwala won the Deep Well Rescue Challenge and the Height Rescue Challenge was won by Al Khidmat Foundation Pakistan.

The consolation award was also given to Sindh Emergency Rescue Service 1122 for first-time participation in the challenge.

The founder of Rescue 1122 Pakistan Dr. Rizwan Naseer, Consul General Turkiye Darmus Bastug, Hasan Dad DD Operations Rescue 1122 KPK, Syed Sardar Ali Shah Director Administration Sindh Rescue 1122, Faisal Sharif Director Administration MERC 1122 Balochistan, Syed Ihsan Ullah Waqas Vice President Al Khidmat Foundation, Rescue officers from Emergency Services Headquarters and Academy, and a large number of rescuers attended the ceremony organized at the Emergency Services Academy from October 4-7, 2023 to improve coordination, ensure skill enhancement, and uniform standards of emergency services in the country.

Speaking with the participating teams, Dr. Rizwan Naseer welcomed all the participants and congratulated the winning teams and appreciated the academy officers and instructors for organizing a healthy competition for all emergency services of Pakistan. He briefed the participants about the journey started from reforms in 2001 for the Emergency Management System and finally the United Nations INSARAG certification of Pakistan Rescue Team (Rescue 1122). He asked the teams to show the same spirit and passion while dealing with emergencies in their respective districts and provinces. He also said that Emergency Services Academy shall hold an international Rescue Challenge next year and expected that teams from Turkiye and other countries would also participate.

Earlier an international delegation of the African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO), consisting of 20 members, witnessed ongoing specialized training activities of Fire, Rescue, Medical, Deep Well Rescue, Burn House, Fire Fit Challenge, Height Rescue, Water Rescue, Swimming, Urban Search & Rescue and physical fitness training. They also visited the Provincial Monitoring Cell (PMC) where they were informed about the monitoring system which included database of operations, visual monitoring of control rooms, fleet management and tracking system, citizen feedback and the overall emergency data.

At the end prayer was also offered for the individuals who had lost their lives in Pakistan and Turkiye earthquakes, floods in Pakistan and other disasters. Dr. Rizwan Naseer and Consul General Turkiye Mr. Darmus Bastug presented the trophy to the Gujranwala team for winning the 12th National Rescue Challenge – 2023.