Rescuers Drill In Aftermath of June Crash

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 September 2007

Prime Minister Hun Sen chastised the official response to this tourist plane crash in June, leading to preparedness exercises Wednesday.

Hundreds of disaster and rescue authorities held an exercise Wednesday at a military airbase near Phnom Penh to better prepare them for aircraft emergencies.

A small plane carrying 22 tourists and crew crashed in the jungle mountains of southern Cambodia in June, and Prime Minister Hun Sen lambasted the ensuing rescue effort.

No one survived that crash, but Wednesday's exercise was designed to improve official reaction to such an emergency.

"The important thing is to be ready in case an airplane crash happens, and we cope with it right away," said Nhim Vanda, deputy director of the government's disaster committee.

Pochentong Airport: Full Scale Airport Emergency Exercise

Fire fighters put out the fire at a mock air crash at Phnom Penh International Airport during the Full Scale Airport Emergency Exercise 2007 September 12, 2007. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

People pretending to be victims in a mock air crash lie on the ground at Phnom Penh International Airport during the Full Scale Airport Emergency Exercise 2007 September 12, 2007. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Rescue workers remove "wounded" from a mock air crash at Phnom Penh International Airport during the Full Scale Airport Emergency Exercise 2007 September 12, 2007. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

A soldier patrols while rescue workers remove "wounded" from a mock air crash at Phnom Penh International Airport during the Full Scale Airport Emergency Exercise 2007 September 12, 2007. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

12-09-2007
By Kong Sothanarith
Cambodge Soir
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

The management of the Pochentong Airport wants to measure the efficiency of the emergency rescue, as well as the efficiency of the chain of information of the emergency operation center by setting up a full scale exercise.

The Phnom Penh International Airport organized on Wednesday 12 September, a simulation of an emergency operation during a plane crash. The exercise follows the crash of a PMT Airlines plane a few month ago, in the Kampot province, where 22 people died. “The goal of this exercise is to provide emergency during a plane accident, mainly a plane crash. We must test the command procedure for an emergency, evaluate the efficiency of the information recorded on the spot, and the follow up of this information by the Emergency operation Center. This is not about an operation related to terrorist action on an airplane,” Khek Norinda, the marketing and communication director of the Société Concessionaire des Aéroports (SCA), said. The exercise took place inside the military airport during a slow period of air traffic. Some 400 personnel involved would be participating in the exercise, they come from the national disaster management department, from Phnom Penh Hospitals, as well as from the police forces.