KRASNOGORSK /Moscow region/, July 10. /TASS/. As many as 70,000 to 100,000 people go missing in Russia every year and 25% of them are never found, Agency of Strategic Initiatives Director General Svetlana Chupsheva said, launching the first all-Russia forum of volunteer search and rescue teams in the Moscow regional town of Krasnogorsk.

"We would like everyone to understand the importance of volunteer search and rescue teams," she emphasized. "According to various sources, 70,000 to 100,000 people go missing in Russia every year and 25% of them - up to 25,000 people - are never found. Half of them are children," Chupsheva added.

She pointed out that the 112 emergency service was the most efficient in the Moscow region.

Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov, in turn, noted that the authorities were interested in actively cooperating with mobile companies in taking more effective steps to find missing persons. "There is a need to cooperate with mobile companies in pinpointing the exact location of anyone missing. We are committed to using the most cutting-edge technologies," the governor stressed.

The first all-Russia forum of volunteer search and rescue teams is taking place in Krasnogorsk on July 10-11, 2018. The event is being sponsored by the Missing People Search Center and supported by the Agency of Strategic Initiatives, the Russian presidential children’s rights commissioner and the Moscow regional government.

The forum’s participants, who come from more than 20 Russian regions, are ready to share experiences and discuss the establishment of resource centers to train volunteers to search for missing people.