Lithuanian rescuers train for international rubble operations
Wednesday 9th September 2026 on 11:30 in
Lithuania
Lithuania’s State Fire and Rescue Service has begun a 36-hour exercise in Vilnius District to renew its international search and rescue certification, LRT reported. Rescuers are searching for victims in simulated rubble and practising how to extract them from beneath concrete structures.
The exercise aims to classify the International Assistance Team as a light urban search and rescue team meeting the requirements of the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, known as INSARAG.
Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said Lithuania needs a team capable of providing international assistance because it strengthens the country’s credibility and could help it receive support from other countries if necessary. He said fires and earthquakes can happen unexpectedly and that Lithuania must be prepared.
Lithuania’s team previously received the certification in 2011 and 2016. The certification is renewed every five years. INSARAG experts from the Czech Republic, Turkey, Romania, Oman, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and other countries are assessing the team’s work.
The team consists of 20 members during the exercise: 16 State Fire and Rescue Service officers, two dog handlers from the State Border Guard Service with their dogs, and two emergency medical workers.
According to Kestutis Agintas, deputy director of the Fire and Rescue Department, the team is prepared to travel to a disaster site up to 10,000 kilometres from Lithuania. Depending on the country where a disaster occurs, it could be transported by air, road or water.
Agintas said the light-level team was being certified because its main advantage was mobility. A smaller team can reach a disaster site faster, which is particularly important during the first days of a mission.
The team could also respond to major disasters in Lithuania, including building collapses, and receive similar teams from other countries if additional assistance were needed.
During the certification, the team must meet more than 115 separate requirements. Its tasks include locating a person in rubble, breaking through concrete slabs horizontally and vertically, from above and from below, extracting the victim, providing assistance and evacuating them from the disaster site.