International mine rescue competition comes to Sudbury

Teams from around the world are coming to Sudbury this weekend for the International Mines Rescue Competition.

The event challenges teams to simulate different exercises such as first aid, fire fighting and rope rescue.

As well as going head-to-head with other teams, competitors hope to collaborate and share ideas about rescue operations during the games, said Paul Aho of Vale West Mine's team.

"One [best practice] could be the way they approach a situation. Two, may be their first aid techniques. Maybe, their fire fighting techniques. You never know what you're going to learn from them until you actually watch them," Aho said.

Aho said that this is his first competition, and that he and his team have spent up to fourteen hours a day training.

"I'm going in very optimistic that we're going to get something out of it," he said, "when it's all over, we may identify some equipment that will be useful for us; we'll possibly make some new contacts and hopefully pick up a few new skills."

The competition welcomes teams from China, Colombia, India and Australia.