By: ML Verma
Shimla (Oct 26): The Shimla airport at Jubberhati carried out a mock drill as part of efforts to deal with any crash, emergency landing and safety preparedness today.
Shimla deputy commissioner JS Rana informed HimVani that the Airport Authority of India along with local administration today organised a mock drill in which 50 security guards of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), officials of State Home guard, Himachal Pradesh Police, Fire fighters and health officials participated.
Different teams equipped with fire tenders, ambulances, fire pits and other installations placed far away from the runway were alerted to join the mock drill in minimum response time. Rana said that firetenderas at Bioleuganj took 30-minute response time, while doctors’ team from DDU Shimla took 40 minutes to respond on the spot.
The fire tenders having a capacity of 8000 liter water at rescue service office located close to the runway took couple of minutes to reach the spot. The rescue teams evacuated dummy-bodies and brought the injured to a nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner also took account of road connectivity besides the table-top airstrip to make rescue operation accessible during any eventuality. One side of the airport is without any proper road connectivity, which may hampered rescue operations in the condition of any mishap. Shimla airports figure among most difficult airports for landing because it has a table-top landing strip and there is not enough plain place around it.
The mock drill was for real-time emergency situation as all personnel carrying out the task of handling the emergency were told that a passenger aircraft had an emergency landing since it had caught fire. There were also instructions given to the staff that the passengers should be rescued from the fire.