“SAREXVENTSPILS” aviation disaster exercise held in Ventspils Municipality
The State Border Guard of Latvia concluded a civil protection exercise in Ventspils Municipality on 30 October, simulating a plane crash in the Vārve bog. More than 150 participants from dozens of institutions and companies took part.
Practical civil protection and disaster management exercises called “SAREXVENTSPILS” ended in Ventspils Municipality, western Latvia, on Friday, 30 October. Organised by the State Border Guard (VRS), the exercise tested how various institutions coordinate their actions in an aviation accident, where rescue, medical, police and other services must work at the same time.
The scenario
The exercise simulated an aviation accident in the Vārve bog involving an aircraft carrying 143 people: 138 passengers and five crew members.
The border guard performed its assigned functions in civil aviation search and rescue. Planning and preparation were handled by the Aviation Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC), which operates under the State Border Guard.
Participants
More than 150 people took part. They represented the State Fire and Rescue Service, the Emergency Medical Service, the State Police, the Ministries of Transport, Foreign Affairs and Health, the State Forest Service, the state joint-stock company “Latvijas gaisa satiksme” (air traffic), the Civil Aviation Agency, the National Armed Forces, the Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Bureau, the Health Inspectorate, the airline airBaltic, the Prosecutor's Office, the Crisis Management Centre, Ventspils Municipality and the National Guard (Zemessardze).
The role of role-players was filled by 44 soldiers of the State Defence Service and four airBaltic aircraft crew members.
What was practised
During the exercise, participants played out the institutions' actions, the coordination of search and rescue, the work of the Aviation Accident Information Centre, information exchange, the mobilisation of resources and inter-agency cooperation. Each institution could check how it carried out its own tasks, as well as its ability to cooperate with others, make coordinated decisions and act in changing conditions.
The State Border Guard concluded that close inter-agency cooperation, professional preparedness and timely coordinated action are essential for managing civil aviation accidents effectively. The exercise allowed cooperation mechanisms to be tested in practice and readiness for joint action in emergencies to be improved.
