KATHMANDU, JUNE 15

A full scale emergency rescue drill was conducted at Tribhuvan International Airport here today.

Organised by the Civil Authority Aviation of Nepal, the main objective of the emergency exercise was to tackle the unforeseen crises and to build the coordination and communication among related stakeholders to deal with the crises in real-time.

In the half-hour rescue drill that started at 3:00pm, a stimulation of an accident of 130-passenger narrow body jet aircraft (Boeing 737) was conducted at the north-east side of TIA by setting it aflame.

A rescue team comprising fire-rescue units, security personnel, medical team and related stakeholders were deployed at the dummy crash site.

The fire-rescue tried to contain the fire while security personnel, including Nepali Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force Nepal and other stakeholders, were involved in the rescue activity.

Seriously injured passengers were airlifted to the nearest hospital via helicopter, those with less serious injuries were transported via ambulances and those with minor injuries were evacuated to the terminal of TIA.

As per the International Civil Aviation Organisation, all the international airports should conduct a full-scale emergency exercise every two years.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 16, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.