RAPID RESPONSE: The emergency respond team attending to an ‘injured victim’. — Photo by Jeffery Mostapa
KUCHING: A Boeing 747 with 70 passengers and crew members on board ‘crash landed’ at the Kuching International Airport (KIA) recently.
Fortunately, the incident was only a disaster drill to test the readiness of all relevant agencies to respond in the event of an emergency.
The stimulation saw an aircraft, Flight ‘XYZ’, departing from Kuala Lumpur at noon. However, the pilot raised the alarm that the aircraft had landing gear problems minutes before it was scheduled to arrive at 1.30pm.
The Control Tower immediately alerted the airport authority, Kuching Specialist Hospital, Fire and Rescue Services Department (Bomba), and Sarawak General Hospital.
FURTHER TREATMENT: The hospital received its first ‘victim’ at about 1.35 pm.
“We (Kuching Specialist Hospital) received the emergency call at 1.10 pm and we quickly dispatched an ambulance to the airport. We also put all our clinical and non-clinical personnel on standby mode,” the hospital’s spokesperson Rowena Cliffton told reporters at the hospital.
She added that the hospital also setup three emergency response units – one at the airport and the other two at its emergency wing. Two ambulances were also placed on standby.
Rowena said about 30 of their staff participated in the drill which was led by its Resident Medical Officer Dr Aini Murni and general manager Yasser Arafat.
“This drill is good as it serves to improve communications between the airport and relevant agencies,” she said, adding that the first ‘victim’ from the ‘crash’ was brought to Kuching Specialist Hospital at about 1.35 pm.