MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Rescuers from the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry have shared their professional expertise with their Syrian counterparts at a fire station in the town of Latakia, the ministry told TASS on Monday.

The rescuers, who work at the ministry’s Leader Center "held classes with rescuers and firefighters on the tactics involved when searching for victims, paying special attention to skills required for relief efforts following disasters that topple buildings and industrial premises," the ministry’s press service said.

In addition, the ministry noted that Russian rescuers reviewed modern emergency equipment that’s used in search and rescue operations by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry.

"Endoscopes, ground-penetrating radars and thermal imagers are used, as well as acoustic search devices that allow detecting a person under a pile of building rubble at a depth of up to 4.5 meters. With the help of such tools, rescuers examine the rubble, identify voids in them, where people may be, and search for victims," the ministry said.

Since the beginning of search and rescue operations in Syria, Russian rescuers have dismantled and removed more than 5,500 cubic meters of rubble. The ministry’s canine units have examined more than 750 square meters of area. Two aircraft of the ministry have delivered 70 tons of humanitarian cargo.

According to the latest data from the Syrian Health Ministry, the death toll from the February 6 earthquake has risen to 1,414 on government-controlled territory, and 2,349 injured people have been taken to hospitals. On Sunday, Rick Brennan, emergency director for WHO's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, said about 4,000 lives had been lost to the earthquake in the areas controlled by the Syrian government, while 2,500 people sustained injuries.