Air rescue drills take flight ahead of Lima’23

Emergency response: Air force planes in action during a search and rescue operation exercise. —Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: A search and rescue exercise for the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2023 (Lima’23) was held by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

In a statement on Saturday, the RMAF said the exercise, conducted in Langkawi, was to enhance capabilities and preparedness to deal with possible accidents in the air, sea and land throughout Lima’23.

The dramatic display is intended to show the enhanced capabilities and preparedness of the RMAF in dealing with possible accidents.

It added that the exercise was also intended to provide all stakeholders with an overview of the standard operating procedure as well as the immediate measures taken by RMAF and CAAM in case of an incident during the exhibition.

The exercise was conducted in two phases, namely on water and on land around the island.

The water exercise was conducted on May 10 in the waters near Resort World Langkawi and the land exercise was conducted on May 11 near Langkawi International Airport, it added.

The exercise focused, among other things, on testing the effectiveness of the coordination and communication process during search and rescue operations, the airport’s emergency response plan, and identifying the applicability and compatibility of various administrative directives and standing procedures used in emergency situations, the RMAF said as reported by Bernama.

About 1,000 participants from 33 agencies and government departments, including the Health Ministry, Fire and Rescue Department and the Civil Defence Force, were involved in the exercise to ensure the smooth running of Lima’23 exhibition from May 23-27.

It was earlier reported that the Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) was aiming to attract 300,000 tourists to the exhibition and its side events that will take place in Langkawi during Lima’23.