The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : AAI conducts mock drill at airport

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

AAI conducts mock drill at airport

Staff Reporter

Over 500 litres of oil used for creating fire and smoke

SAFE SMOKE: A mock fire drill being held at the Coimbatore Airport on Tuesday to check preparedness during emergencies. - Photo: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

Coimbatore: A mock drill was conducted at the Coimbatore Airport on Tuesday evening to assess and evaluate the preparedness of the agencies concerned in handling an emergency situation.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) organised the mock drill. A lean traffic hour was chosen and an alarm was sounded at 4 p.m. as if there was an air crash calling upon the agencies concerned to reactwith relief and rescue operations.

A bus carrying CISF personnel was parked on the runway in lieu of an aircraft and waste materials with nearly 500 litres of oil was used for creating fire and smoke. Even as smoke emanated from the fire, scores of fire tenders and ambulances started arriving to the airport.

Rescue and relief

The Airport Director, C. Vijaya Kumar, said that the exercise was aimed at ensuring that rescue and relief took place within the minimum time to save maximum lives in the event of an air crash.

All agencies including the Airport Authority of India, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, Coimbatore City Police, nearby private and Government Hospitals, Airline agencies and Indian Oil were involved in the drill.

While the rescue and relief machinery came on time, minor defects and teething problems were taken note of. During the briefing session after the mock drill, these defects were pointed out for rectification by the agencies concerned.

The Airport Director said that the preparedness had been more than satisfactory.

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