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Airport District (APTDIST) and New Territories South (NTS) Region participated in the annual aircraft crash and rescue exercise at the Hong Kong International Airport on November 20. The exercise was hosted by the Airport Authority Hong Kong to provide an opportunity for airport stakeholders, Government departments and relevant organisations to strengthen their coordination and familiarise themselves with the emergency procedures in handling an aircraft crash and a suspected chemical leakage incident.
The exercise simulated a scenario of an arrival flight with its nose gear collapsed during its landing on the South Runway, resulting in a chemical leakage into the main cabin of the aircraft with a few passengers infected. Officers of APTDIST and NTS Region, together with the Civil Aviation Department, the Fire Services Department (FSD), the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Hospital Authority and the Home Affairs Department, immediately activated their respective emergency response procedure and were deployed to the site to cordon off the area and conduct a rescue operation.
Emergency vehicle access, a casualty collection point and a triage zone were set up at the scene for initial medical treatment and assessment. FSD’s Hazardous Materials Sub-team was also turned out to set up a temporary decontamination facility at the accident site. The participating units worked together to handle passengers and their family members, conduct investigation and respond to the media. In the exercise, APTDIST used the Radio-frequency Identification System to conduct a headcount on the casualties, thus facilitating the deployment of resources and release of information to the public by other departments.
The exercise boosted the participating units’ command and control capability as well as inter-departmental coordination in an aircraft accident, thereby enhancing their readiness for handling emergency incidents.
