Airport emergency exercise a success

A large-scale emergency exercise took place in and around Vágar Airport yesterday evening.

The emergency scenario was a simulation of a RC 411 passenger aircraft from Spain, which crashed on the runway and slid down toward the nearby lake.

Firefighters, police officers and other first responders took part in the exercise, which involved a total of 400 people.

Jákup Haraldsen, the head of emergency operations at Vágar Airport, who supervised the exercise, said the operation was a success.

“As a whole, we have reached our objectives with this exercise. Everyone involved will agree that this is probably the most extensive emergency exercise operations we will ever see in the Faroes.”

The exercise is part of a mandatory quadrennial test of the airport authority’s emergency response plan.

Despite general praise for the outcome, the operation got off to an unfortunate start as one of the airport’s fire fighting vehicles ran off the road and became stuck in the roadside mud.

An assessment report on the exercise is due in December, says Haraldsen. Observers and participants will, however, meet in two weeks’ time to discuss preliminary analyses.

Translated by prosa.fo