"Heat, smoke add dash of reality to Malaysia airport drill"

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Heat, smoke add dash of reality to Malaysia drill


KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian airport disaster drill turned into a
real-life emergency after some participants fainted in scorching mid-day
heat and others had to be rushed to hospital reeling from smoke inhalation.

Five of the 835 volunteers in Tuesday's simulation of an air crash at the
Kuala Lumpur International Airport fainted during the three-hour exercise
held under a blistering sun, Malaysian newspapers reported.

One unconscious woman, who had earlier been "rescued" from an aircraft and
left lying on a grassy area by the "crash site", was even treated for her
fake wounds by a nurse participating in the rehearsal -- before realising
her patient had fainted.

A fireman and an airport worker were hit by smoke inhalation and were taken
to hospital, the New Straits Times newspaper quoted an airport official as
saying.

The drill is held every two years to test rescue agencies' readiness for an
emergency at the airport, which is located about 50 km (31 miles) south of
the Malaysian capital and receives more than 23 million passengers each
year.

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