The exercise consisted of a response to the explosion of a ship carrying gas and the different scenarios it generated.

The Bombers de Mallorca, the Consell de Mallorca’s emergency service, took part this morning, along with the other emergency services of the Balearic Islands and the Military Emergency Unit (UME), in a drill in Port d’Alcúdia. The exercise involved the breakdown of a ship carrying gas in the middle of the sea and a request for shelter in the port. During the approach, the vessel suffers an explosion that generates different work scenarios.

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Bombers de Mallorca

These exercises aim to reinforce the coordination and cohesion of all the organisations involved in an emergency. During the drill, the procedures for activating and deactivating the different organisations and services were put into practice, as well as the approach and decision-making in situations such as the evacuation of affected people, the care of the injured and the rescue and transfer of victims.

The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, stated that “with this drill, it has been possible to check in advance whether the decisions and actions taken are efficient, with the ultimate aim of improving emergency preparedness and action. In addition, it allows us to exercise changes in responsibilities derived from the evolution of an emergency and to reinforce the coordination and cohesion of all the organisations. I would like to thank the more than 300 personnel who took part in today’s drill”.

“During this legislature, the Consell de Mallorca has strengthened its commitment to the Bombers de Mallorca, with the equipment of the emergency service, with the renovation and improvement of infrastructure and vehicles. It could not be otherwise, to provide the necessary resources and improvements to those who protect us,” added President Galmés.

The scale of the emergency and the different types of incidents have made it necessary to activate the Territorial Civil Protection Plan of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands (PLATERBAL), in the emergency phase and level 2, to coordinate all services, means and resources of the Autonomous Community, both public and private and those from other public administrations. PLATERBAL also makes it possible to integrate the territorial plans at a lower level and ensure liaison with those at a higher level.

The drill was carried out in various scenarios and involved different emergencies apart from the main one, the explosion of the ship at the mouth of the port. The secondary exercises were: two fires on two boats, one in the port’s commercial dock and the other on the west quay, the evacuation of the port’s maritime station and a public school, the rescue of victims from two vehicles that had fallen into the sea on the fishing quay and from the collapsed structure of the desalination plant, an industrial fire at the Alcanada thermal power station, actions in traffic accidents and the rescue of victims on the public highway, access control and control of the population.

As the exercise also suggested a possible contamination of the port water, the Special Contingency Plan for Accidental Marine Water Contamination in the Balearic Islands (CAMBAL) was also activated. An advanced command post (PMA) and an integrated operational coordination centre (CECOPI) have also been set up to direct and coordinate the actions, and a test has been carried out of the ES ALERT system for alerting the population on mobile phones in the area.

More than 300 personnel took part in the drill and, in addition to the Bombers de Mallorca, 23 other organisations took part: the Directorate General of Emergencies and Interior; 112; the Cartographic and Geographic Institute of the Regional Ministry of Housing, Territory and Mobility; the Water and Quality Agency of the Regional Ministry of the Sea and Water Cycle; Government Delegation; the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Palma of the Ministry of Justice; the State Meteorology Agency of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge; the Alcúdia Town Council; the Norai de Alcúdia Public School; the Civil Guard; the National Police; the Civil Protection Volunteer Groups; the Palma Fire Department; the UME BIEM III Military Emergency Unit; IBANAT; SAMU 061; the Red Cross; IBETEC; the Balearic Islands Port Authority; Maritime Rescue; Alcudiamar, Red Eléctrica and Endesa.