“She was pulling my clothes, saying, why don’t you bring a helicopter, as if the helicopter is for your nonsense.” How people hindered rescue operations

More than a week has passed since the tragic explosion at the Surmalu shopping center, yet one person is still reported missing. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia continues not only search operations but also clearing works in the area, sometimes conducting forced demolitions to keep subsequent operations within justifiable risk limits.

The commander of the 18th rescue squad of the Special Rescue Operations Center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Lieutenant Colonel Karen Avetisyan, spoke with Armtimes. Discussing the progress of the work, the involvement and support of volunteers, Avetisyan noted, “One of the characteristics of our nation is to come to assist, not to remain indifferent, but often people in such panic situations demand much more from rescuers than what is necessary or possible at that moment.”

“A woman approached me, pulling my clothes, asking, ‘Why didn’t you bring a helicopter?’ while another one from the side said, ‘The helicopter is for your nonsense,’ etc. This is a situation where citizens lack the knowledge to act in such circumstances, are in a hot zone of emergencies, and instead of helping, they hinder,” Avetisyan remarked, adding that dumping water from a helicopter in such a situation would have been an ill-considered approach. According to him, they could not pour large amounts of water onto the rubble where people might still be alive.

Avetisyan noted that those who had relatives inside were more understanding of the situation and were more patient than those who randomly found themselves there. “There were citizens who did not observe the basic safety rules, wearing slippers, not using gloves, and getting too close to the hot zone, not heeding the police instructions. There were many obstacles,” he observed.

When asked if there was any support, Avetisyan replied, “There was a specific area that was opened by the guys from the Armenian Red Cross and the volunteers who came. About 30 percent of them adhered to the instructions of the Rescue Service, assisting as much as they could, but the other 70 percent behaved like mischievous children. We asked the police to remove these individuals from the area, but physically it was simply impossible in that situation. We were very satisfied with the work of the Red Cross and the volunteers; they showed a prepared, professional approach, which greatly helped our work.”

Referring to the difficulties of the aftermath and the work focused on mitigating it, he said that the Ministry of Emergency Situations was prepared for such situations both technically and with human resources, and there was no need for assistance from other countries. “In such large-scale emergencies, during damage recovery and search and rescue operations, not having additional victims among both rescuers and civilians speaks to the high preparedness of the Rescue Service. I think we came through it honorably. The Rescue Service was prepared for the Surmalu incident; the community was not. The clearing of the rubble and the dismantling of unstable structures were prolonged due to the public's lack of awareness and panic,” he stated.

Addressing various complaints heard in recent days and the claims that if the MES had acted more operatively, many more lives could have been saved, Karen Avetisyan noted that even if the first nine deceased individuals were extracted sooner, nothing could have been done as they had life-threatening injuries and were severely burnt and dismembered. “There were citizens who were completely burnt; it was impossible to determine their gender at that moment. I said, ‘probably a man,’ but later it was found that it was a woman,” he pointed out.

Avetisyan sadly noted that today, the level of awareness among our citizens is very low; they do not like to obey and everyone considers themselves an expert in such matters. “If a citizen sees a restricted area, they should understand that their entry is prohibited. In the zone of rescue operations, only individuals qualified as rescuers should be present, which an ordinary citizen is not. Knowledge should be imparted from kindergarten and school that during emergencies, the situation is controlled by the Rescue Service,” he emphasized.

Despite the mentioned shortcomings, he nonetheless highlighted that citizens trust the rescuers. “Our rescue center responds to an average of 10 to 15 calls daily, of various natures – domestic incidents, diving, accidents, collapses, fires, etc. The public is familiar with the quality of our work; when they see people in rescue uniforms, our citizens smile, recognize, and trust them.”