The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Multan carried out a mock exercise to check its preparedness in dealing with possible emergency at Multan International Airport on Saturday.
Though it was a full-scale exercise, held at the airport with the collaboration of Pakistan Air Force, Airport Security Force, Rescue 1122,Civil defence and ground handling agents operating at the airport, the response by the medical team and rescue staff was sluggish.
“The 80 injured victims brought down from the aircraft (which had made an emergency landing during the exercise) were taken to hospital on the stretcher, .
The information desk was established at the apron but it was not properly used as it remained hidden during the whole exercise that started at the airport.However, the flight schedule was not disturbed during the exercise.
Besides, the fire fighting engines, an ambulance of Rescue 1122, doctors and paramedics of Military Hospital, Nishtar Hospital participated in the mock exercise.
“The scale of exercise was not as big as it should have been at an international airport,” the spokesperson for Rescue 1122 told Dawn.
However, she said security arrangements were good though they could be improved further.As part of the exercise, a passenger aircraft made crash landing after it caught fire and its wings broke. Immediately after the landing, firefighting units rushed to the scene and controlled the fire.
Later the rescue teams evacuated the passengers from the aircraft and shifted them to different hospitals by helicopter and ambulances.
Mubarik Shah , the airport manager, highlighted the importance of the exercise and said it was carried out to ensure adequate response of all personnel and resources available at the airport.
The mock exercise is carried out at the airport after two years to implement the standard and recommended practice to ensure smooth airport operations. The Participants later on also visited the Emergency Crisis Response Centre (ECRC) equipped with hotlines and all other essential communication equipment to deal with the real time emergency situation in efficient manner.The Participants also visited emergency response counters set up by the airlines.
The Participants of event includingGroup Captain Muzammil Jibran Officer Commanding PAF, ,Lt.Col.Ansar Ghauri from 404 army aviation, Zia-ul-Haq A/CSO Airport Security Force, Azhar Malik,Chairman AOC and Nadeem Murtaza Station Manager PIACL besides the members of airline and ground handling agenciesoperating at Multan International airport
Abdul Wahab Khan PCAA Chief fire Fighting Officer (CFRO)and his rescue and fire fighting team perfornmed the marvelous job.
