The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Tuesday conducted a mock drill on rescue and relief operations during a rail accident to test and assess the level of preparedness in dealing with a crisis situation.
The medical department of the Railways, the Railway Protection Force, Fire and Rescue Services and St. John Ambulance participated in the exercise organised by the Safety Branch of Tiruchi Railway Division. The drill started at the Goods Yard after an alarm was sounded alerting a train accident.
Around 35 personnel from NDRF IV Battalion from Arakkonam, headed by a senior officer in the rank of an Assistant Commandant, took part. As part of the operation, a train coach was toppled for the NDRF and railway rescue teams to carry out their mission.
“We assumed that there were passengers inside the toppled coach, and the rescue teams swung into action by breaking open the window and cutting open both sides of the coach,” said P. Rajan Balu, Assistant Commandant, NDRF.
Dummies were used for the purpose of rescue during the operation that lasted nearly two hours. The whole objective was to test the level of preparedness and the response time of the railways and the NDRF in carrying out relief and rescue operations in the event of a train accident, said Mr.Rajan.
The NDRF had been carrying out similar exercises with the railways in various railway divisions, he said adding this was the first time a mock exercise was carried out in Tiruchi Division. RPF Divisional Railway Manager and officials from various departments oversaw the drill.
