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Emergency test for 999 services - VIDEO
TWO planes crashed head-on in the sky above a picturesque South Yorkshire reservoir, spreading body parts across a 10-mile area.
Mercifully it wasn't a real tragedy, but a realistic training exercise which saw fire experts, police, ambulance and Yorkshire Water giving their emergency procedures a trial run.
Operation Oxidation got under way yesterday at Winscar Reservoir and continues today.
The two-day rescue is the largest emergency services training exercise of its kind ever to take place in the UK, and involved more than 100 experts.
As the sun shone on the rural setting, members of the public watched in awe as the teams carried out a simulated hunt for body parts, survivors and the planes' wreckage.
There were diving teams plunging into the waters of the reservoir, firefighters abseiling down cliff faces, and paramedics waiting for the all-important call that survivors had been found. It took months to get everything in place for the carefully designed scenario, which involved a light aircraft carrying three people 'smashing' with a jumbo jet with 236 passengers and crew on board.
Although the script decreed some of the victims had been found straightaway, the emergency services' challenge during the training exercise was to find all those still missing.
Today they are expected to recover the planes - on loan from Doncaster Air Museum - from the bottom of the huge reservoir.
Sgt Russ Parramore, of South Yorkshire Police, said the aim was to find out what problems could occur during a real tragedy and to sort them out so everything runs smoothly if and when real accidents strike.
He added many of the workers had only recently left university or had no training, and it was a great chance for them to put their skills to the test.
Peter Ramsay, Yorkshire Water's security and emergency planning manager, said: "This exercise is all about rehearsing our emergency plans together with our partners to make sure that, in the eventuality of such a disaster occurring, we are able to respond in an effective and professional manner.
"The first day has gone extremely well, aided by fantastic weather, and we're looking forward to staging the water-based exercises today."
- A MAN whose body was found in Winscar Reservoir on Tuesday has been named as 61-year-old Brian Arnold, from Athersley, Barnsley.
A reservoir engineer made the discovery as preparation work was being carried before the start of the training exercise. Police are not treating the death as suspicious. A post mortem examination was due to take place today and an inquest is to be opened.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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