Today at 6:05 p.m., the Ohrid Emergency Medical Service alerted the Operational center of the Ohrid Red Cross Mountain Rescue Service for an accident caused by a fall of an ATV. Considering that the accident took place on a dirt mountain road, about 10km away from the nearest asphalt road, the MRS was called to intervene. Two teams were immediately mobilized. They headed to the scene of the accident with two off-road vehicles, where two people, foreign nationals, were given first aid. The injured were properly immobilized and ready for transport, after which they were handed over to the Emergency Medical Service at 7:10 p.m., which transferred them to the special hospital for orthopedics and traumatology St. Erasmus, for further medical treatment.
This intervention, the second of its kind, which took place just before the start of the tourist season, once again emphasizes the need for a serious approach in the organization of the risk management system, in order to ensure a quality offer, as well as effective action in case of accidents which inevitably occur in adventure tourism. The Ohrid Red Cross Mountain Rescue Service, as an important part of the risk management system, in 2018 and 2019, with financial support from the EU, organized several workshops for adventure tourism service providers, which are obviously necessary to be held regularly, at least once a year, before the start of the tourist season, as an integral part of preventive activities. Also, a special Manual for Risk Management in Adventure Tourism was published (available online at the following link: https://pss.org.mk/en/za-nas/).
All this, as well as the high costs generated during the rescue operations, are part of our demands for the local governments in the region to be involved in the financial sustainability of the MRS, which unfortunately was not understood by the MPs. A large number of interventions and assists since the beginning of the year, 32 so far, amplify the alarm for sustainability, which forces us to think about the introduction of a price list for services, which, unfortunately, will be borne for the citizens in the future, who despite being taxpayers in the country, will still have to pay the costs for the efficient operation of the Mountain Rescue Service.
