RAWALPINDI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) carried out a mock exercise to check its preparedness in dealing with possible emergency at Benazir Bhutto International Airport on Wednesday.

Though it was a full-scale exercise, held at the airport with the collaboration of Pakistan Air Force, Airport Security Force and ground handling agents operating at the airport, the response by the medical team and rescue staff was sluggish.

“The injured victims brought down from the aircraft (which had made an emergency landing during the exercise) were laughing on the stretcher, instead of screaming with pain,” an onlooker noted.

The information desk was established at the apron but it was not properly used as it remained hidden during the whole exercise that started at around 1pm at the airport.

However, the flight schedule was not disturbed during the exercise.

Besides, the firefighting engines, an ambulance of Rescue 1122, CDA, doctors and paramedics of Military Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Pims participated in the mock exercise.

“The scale of exercise was not as big as it should have been at an international airport,” the spokesperson for Rescue 1122 told Dawn.

However, she said security arrangements were good though they could be improved further.As part of the exercise, a passenger aircraft made crash landing after it caught fire and its wings broke. Immediately after the landing, firefighting units rushed to the scene and controlled the fire.

Later the rescue teams evacuated the passengers from the aircraft and shifted them to different hospitals by helicopter and ambulances.

Mohammad Ayaz Jadoon, the airport manager, highlighted the importance of the exercise and said it was carried out to ensure adequate response of all personnel and resources available at the airport.

The mock exercise is carried out at the airport after two years to implement the standard and recommended practice to ensure smooth airport operations.