MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Prosecutor General’s Office to check how children’s holidays are organized by the federal and regional authorities.
"The Russian Prossecutor General’s Office (is ordered), together with the Russian Emergencies Ministry, the Interior Ministry with the participation of other interested federal executive authorities to check compliance with the requirements to the organization of children’s recreation and rehabilitation by the organizations and self-employed entrepreneurs working in the field of children’s recreation and rehabilitation and also check the activities of the federal executive bodies, the executive bodies in Russia’s territorial entities, including those concluding contracts with such organizations and self-employed entrepreneurs," the presidential instructions say.
Putin also ordered the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the Interior Ministry and the Federal National Guard Service "to develop and implement a package of additional measures aimed at ensuring anti-terrorist protection of children’s vacation destinations." A report on the issue should be presented to Putin before September 1, 2016.
In addition to that, the president ordered the Russian Emergencies Ministry "to take additional steps to ensure safety at water bodies located in children’s vacation destinations." The list of instruction states that it is necessary to "ensure the operation of the emergency response service alarm system in children’s holiday destinations." These tasks are to be completed until August 1, 2016.
Putin also ordered the Russian Emergencies Ministry and the Interior Ministry to form the commissions to prevent emergency situations in children’s vacation destinations.
Besides, the president asked all involved government agencies, together with the Russian Emergencies Ministry, to develop and publish laws and regulations establishing the procedure for regional government monitoring in the field of protecting the population and territories from emergency situations.
He instructed the Cabinet to consider the introduction of the licensing of the activities to organize children’s recreation and rehabilitation and compulsory insurance of children’s life and health during their vacations.
On June 18, 47 children vacationing at the Park Hotel Syamozero children’s recreation camp accompanied by four adult instructors ran into a gale while rafting on three boats in Lake Syamozero in Karelia, northwestern Russia. The boats overturned and sank. Fourteen children drowned, 33 others were rescued.