On April 6, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. A centre for psychological assistance in crisis situations has started operating in Belarus. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the Minister for Emergency Situations, Vladimir Vashchenko, who is on a scheduled visit to Vitebsk today. "Currently, the centre is already operating in a normal working mode," said Vladimir Vashchenko. Its interaction with all interested structures has been coordinated, a regulatory framework is being developed, and interaction with the Centre for Emergency Psychological Assistance of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation has been established. "They have been operating for a long time and have accumulated rich experience, but we also have good developments," the minister noted. According to him, this centre will combine the best experience of regional structures. It is planned that the centre will have a staff of about 40 employees. "At the first stage, we have trained people who will be on duty, but there are still issues to be resolved," added the head of the ministry. Summing up the department's work for the first quarter, Vladimir Vashchenko noted some improvement in the situation compared to the same period in 2011. Thus, the number of fires decreased by 7%, and the number of deaths decreased by more than 20%. "Overall, the work is being carried out well, but situations involving deaths in fires and on water bodies are alarming and force us to work more intensively in this direction," the minister stated. He emphasized that a good result is achieved when all prevention entities combine their efforts. Regarding the work of the Vitebsk Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the head of the ministry noted that it has both positive aspects and shortcomings. "There is room for improvement in all areas: fire prevention, prevention of deaths, and other issues," concluded Vladimir Vashchenko. -0-

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