The Uganda People’s Defense Forces together the Uganda Police and emergency crew was Friday involved in a drill aimed at bettering their preparedness to deal with emergencies at Entebbe International Airport.
The joint drill which also included Civial Aviation Authority and Uganda Red Cross was according to officials meant to harness emergency readiness in case of an aircraft accident.
The exercise that kicked off at 10:00 am involved simulation of an accident in which a “Red Squirrel Airlines” (pseudo name) plane with 180 people on board crashed and caught fire while landing.
The exercise assumed that some people lost their lives and a number of survivors were critically injured sparking off an emergency situation in which fire fighters and all the other rescue agencies swung into action to save lives.
The Civil Aviation Authorities Fire Fighting and Rescue Services personnel put down the ensuing fire while medics from various hospitals were immediately summoned.
Doctors and nurses accessed the site and took care of the “victims”, rushing the critically injured to Entebbe’s Grade B Hospital, International Hospital Kampala (IHK), Nsambya and Rubaga Hospitals using the national army helicopters.
The drill comes as the country steps up efforts to revive the defunct Uganda Airlines, amidst ongoing renovation of the Entebbe Airport.
Although the country’s only international airport has never seen an emergency of such magnitude, since the 1976 Entebbe Raid, the the now defunct Uganda Airlines once lost one of its aircraft, a Boeing 707 in a crash at Roma-Fiumicino Airport in Italy in 1988. Thirty-three of the 52 occupants on board were killed as the place exploded into flames while trying to land at airport in bad weather.
Stakeholders that participated in today’s exercise included Grade B Hospital in Entebbe, Nsambya Hospital, Rubaga Hospital, International Hospital Kampala, The Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Aviation Police and Airlines.
The Police Airwing, Uganda Peoples Defence Airforce and Handling Companies at Entebbe Airport also participated.
International Civil Aviation Organization regulations require each international airport in the world to conduct such emergency preparedness exercises on a regular basis so as to rehearse and perfect rescue efforts in the unfortunate occurrence of an accident.