Bomb exercise conducted

By RANDAL GANASI
A BOMB exercise was conducted at the PNG Ports Alotau facility last week in preparation for possible threats in Milne Bay.
The drill lasted almost two hours and involved PNG Ports, Alotau Fire Service, Alotau police, Masurina Security, National Maritime Safety Authority, Milne Bay Transport Authority, the provincial health authority and provincial disaster and emergency committee.
The exercise started with a caller pretending to be a disgruntled landowner who sent in a black box containing explosives to the PNG Ports office.
The call was then transmitted to the respective organisations which responded one after another at different intervals to contain the situation.
Masurina Security Services, which is contracted to PNG Ports was alerted and then police, who went straight down to assess the situation and defuse the bomb, if necessary.
The Alotau Fire Service followed to quell any possible fires.
Other organisations moved to the scene to play their roles in a situation.
The exercise was deemed a success. During the exercise, first aid was given to a person who pretended to faint.The provincial disaster boss said the exercise was proven to be a success.
“The town is growing big and we have to be prepared for threats that are constant globally.”