MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Several search-and-rescue units have been formed and put on 24-hour permanent duty on the Kuril Islands, the Sakhalin branch of the Russian emergencies ministry said on Monday.
"The new units have been formed to provide a prompt response to a range of emergency situations, to carry out search-and-rescue operations and other missions on the islands and to minimize the damage from possible incidents," the statement said.
The four Kuril Islands — Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai — have been administered by Russia since the end of World War II, but Japan still lays claim to them.
