Mock bomb drill held at Pasighat airport

PASIGHAT, Sep 21: A mock ‘bomb threat preparedness evacuation drill’ was carried out at the airport here in East Siang district on Monday to test the coordination and response of all the agencies, in keeping with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security requirement.

The drill began at 11 am. All the staffers in the domestic terminal were evacuated and the terminal thoroughly searched within the set time and guidelines.

The staffers were evacuated from the civil terminal as airport security unit personnel along with a bomb disposal and detection squad (BDDS) carried out searches for an ‘explosive-laden bag’ planted in the terminal building as part of the drill.

The bag which had been planted as part of the drill was located, isolated, and disposed of by the BDDS team while observing necessary precautions.

After the disposal of the object, the bomb threat assessment committee cleared the airport for further operations. The drill ended at 12:10 am.

Various agencies and emergency response services, including the airport administration, the airport security unit, the district police, the airline security, the station manager, and the India Air Force detachment at the ALG in Pasighat participated in the drill.

No passenger was inconvenienced as no flights were operating at the time of the drill.

“The mock exercise will improve the emergency preparedness and coordination of all agencies involved,” said SP Rajiv Ranjan Singh. (DIPRO)