The disaster that wasn't

Dubai police stage a drill in which they respond to the scene of a massive plane crash.

About 200 emergency crew members took part in a plane crash drill in a remote area between Al Aweer and Al Ruwayah yesterday.

DUBAI // It was a chaotic scene: a military plane had crashed into four houses, killing four people and injuring 27.

Officials said a Ukrainian pilot had lost control of his plane; he ejected and parachuted to safety, but his plane landed in a populated area, its fuel load erupting into a fireball.

Rescue teams rushed to the devastated neighbourhood to control the fire and treat the wounded, who were scattered across the landscape. The rescuers hesitated for only a few seconds before rushing in, as specialists checked to ensure there were no hazardous chemicals, biological contaminants or radiation at the site.

But the destruction witnessed yesterday was not real.

The exercise for Dubai police, civil defence, ambulance services, the Rashid Hospital trauma centre, Dubai civil aviation and the armed forces was designed to prepare authorities in advance of the Dubai Airshow on November 13.

About 200 responders participated in the drill, which began about 11am and lasted for an hour and a half.

"The exercise is similar to a real incident, but the risk here could go up to 60 per cent, while the risk in reality is 100 per cent," said Maj Yousef Rashid, incident commander for civil defence.

The exercise was held in a remote area, behind the Dubai Cultural Sports Club and between Al Aweer and Al Ruwayah. The "victims" were police officers and a few dummies, and the fuel-driven fire was simply tyres that had been ignited.

Just as in a real crash, the first step in the response was sealing off the crash site with riot police to prevent any unauthorised people from entering.

Then the area was divided into three zones: hot, warm and cold. In the hot zone, closest to the fire, only firefighters and rescuers were allowed. In the other two zones, paramedics and other co-ordinators are allowed to work.

Firefighters rushed through the smoke and hosed down the tyres, while rescue teams of police and paramedics transferred "victims", each with a specific, fake injury and torn clothing, to safety.

Three rescue helicopters landed nearby to transfer the most seriously injured to the Rashid trauma centre.

"The main purpose of this drill is to measure the response time and to evaluate coordination ability between the different teams. Communications in such a situation are the most vital thing," said Brig Anas Al Matroushi, director of rescue and transportation of the Dubai Police operations room, who was commanding the rescue response. "In major accidents, all the concerned parties get connected to the same radio frequency, and all directions are made centrally by the Dubai Police chief, who is the main commander."

A mobile hospital, to provide high-level treatment at the scene, was present, as were lighting trucks, a refrigerated morgue truck and several specialised cranes.

Dubai Police had four rescue patrols, with 16 rescuers, participating in the exercise. Twenty-two firefighters, 13 ambulances and 36 paramedics were also involved, alongside crowd control police officers and civil aviation staff.

"The most important thing in the rescue operation is the coordination," said Khalifa Khalifa Al Drai, the executive director of the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services.

Yesterday paramedics "treated" five serious injuries, while the rest of those "hurt" suffered minor to moderate injuries.

But for some paramedics, the job became real as two police officers and a firefighter passed out and were treated for heat exhaustion.

"This is one of our main battles, the sun and heat, we always have to think of it and have extra paramedics, and we also need to think of the fluid supplies to men at work," Brig Al Matroushi said.

A meeting to review the exercise is scheduled for next Thursday. All the bodies involved will discuss the shortfalls and ways to eliminate them, officials said.