The state of preparedness of various departments of Madurai Airport and that of various other related agencies was tested at a full-scale mock accident and rescue exercise carried out by the Airport Fire Service here on Tuesday.
As per the drill, an aircraft of ABC Airlines crashed while landing and went up in flames. Within a few minutes, the fire tenders of Airport Fire Service rushed to the spot and put out the ‘flames.’ The firemen immediately started the rescue operation even as the airport officials brought in ambulances and medical teams from Government Rajaji Hospital and nearby private hospitals. The ‘injured’ were moved to a collection point where in they were tagged with their identity. The firemen also used electric cutters to rescue the victims who got ‘trapped’ in the mangled remains of the aircraft.
Later, at a debriefing session, Airport Director (in-charge) K.P.S. Kartha said that the mock exercise was being done every month on a low scale.
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However, the full-scale drill involving all the agencies was done once in every two years to fine-tune the state of preparedness, he said.