Dania! Norjidi, Aziz Idris and Edwin Eng
NORMAL services at the Brunei International Airport ground to a halt yesterday as rescue personnel braved the stormy weather to save 80 ‘passengers’ from a Boeing 767 aircraft in a full-scale air crash exercise.
According to a press release from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), the exercise scenario involved an inbound aircraft from Bangkok that developed hydraulic failure, which resulted in a heavy, high-speed landing, causing its main undercarriage to collapse and explode into a fireball.
After the plane ground to a halt at the edge of the runway, elite rescue personnel from the airport fire services were scrambled to the crash site on several fire engines to extinguish the flaming aircraft and try to save the 80 passengers from the wreckage. However, as luck would have it, nature intervened in the form of a heavy downpour yesterday, which helped to extinguish the flames.
The Fire and Rescue personnel immediately set up inflatable tents and moved the victims away from the crash site and from the elements to await the arrival of medical personnel in ambulances.
The medical personnel utilised standard triage rules of identifying the severity of the wounds, administering immediate medical treatment and separating the dead. The wounded were then transported in waves of ambulances to the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital.
Passengers with minor injuries were also transported to the Airport Rescue and Fire Services building, where medical personnel applied the same triage rules of identification and treatment.
Meanwhile, under a constant wail of emergency sirens, ambulances carrying the first casualties from the crash site arrived at the Accident and Emergency Ward of RIPAS Hospital where teams were preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Each ambulance carried five crewmembers: a doctor, nurse, two paramedics and an attendant each with specific roles and responsibilities. It was learnt as the steady stream of casualties began arriving at the hospital, only stabilised victims were brought in.
The swift response and coordination from the medical professionals saw them carrying the victims out from the ambulances and rushed into the emergency room.
The medical personnel at RIPAS Hospital then methodically applied the triage and trauma procedures for the victims.
According to RIPAS personnel involved in the exercise, the victims were divided into three groups: P1 as having life threatening injuries, P2 with medium injuries and P3 with minor injuries.
Royal Brunei Police Force personnel were also present to control traffic, the media and the public to ease the passageway where the victims were brought in.
The traffic condition around the hospital was at a minimal due to the quick actions by RBAF personnel.
The Family Assistance Support Team (FAST) from Royal Brunei Airlines also made themselves available at the reception hall of RIPAS Hospital for family members to identify their loved ones.
At the end of the exercise, the DCA revealed that of the 80 passengers, 17 were ‘uninjured’, 41 were ‘injured’ and 22 ‘dead’.
The DCA said the exercise was participated by the Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health, Royal Brunei Police Force, Brunei Fire and Rescue Department and Royal Brunei Airlines.
Following the exercise, the Director of Civil Aviation, Haji Omarali bin Haji Mohd Ja’ afar, said, “Having an air crash emergency plan with procedures and process is only the beginning.”
He added that relevant equipment and supplies must support the plan and that all the personnel involved require constant training.
The exercise was aimed at testing the readiness of all the participating departments and organisations in the event of a real crash at the Brunei International Airport.
The director also said, “This plan must be tested and reviewed regularly to ensure effective coordination, communication, cooperation and command and control amongst the various related agencies,” adding that this could only be achieved “through tabletop exercises and emergency drills”.
Eighty volunteer ‘passengers’ were involved in yesterday’s air crash exercise. One of them was Aqilah, who said, “I’m an attachment student under the DCA. All the attachment students were asked to be involved in this exercise.
“First we were given a briefing, but were not told of the actual day of the exercise. It wasn’t until the day before that they told us, and it wasn’t until the actual day of the exercise that we were prepared.”
Asked about the make-up she and the other `passengers’ were wearing, she answered: “We were given fake blood and make-up to look like we were burned and so on by the army.”
Another volunteer, Mohammad Saliuddin Zainuddin, when asked how it felt to be a part of the exercise, said, “I gained a new experience, and it gave us the opportunity to know about the exercise, and to know what the response is like from all agencies.
“It was useful, since I’m attached to the Airport Fire Service Department, and now I know how to manage this type of disaster.”
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