OSCE staff member dies in fatal climbing accident

DUSHANBE, 10 August 2009 - A staff member of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, Czeslaw Bielawski, 49, died from injuries in a fatal climbing (rappelling) accident on Sunday, 9 August at 17.15 hrs.

The accident occurred when Bielawski, an experienced mountain expert, fell off a rock wall as he was about to complete private training in rappelling for a group of six colleagues and friends at a popular climbing site some nine kilometers north of Dushanbe, in the Varzob Valley, known as "9 km".

Bielawski had worked at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan since March 2009, seconded by the Government of Poland to serve as Administration Support Officer within the OSCE Office in Tajikistan. He leaves behind a wife and a 19-year old son.