The full-scale SAREX-26 exercise for search and rescue operations following a plane crash was held in the Banderishka Polyana area above Bansko. According to the scenario, a passenger plane carrying 105 people and transporting an organ for transplantation crashes in the Pirin Mountains.
The exercise was organized by the Directorate General "Civil Aviation Administration" to test coordination between institutions in the event of an aviation accident in mountainous terrain. The practical part included tasks involving the search for people, providing assistance to multiple casualties, firefighting and evacuation.
Firefighters, Mountain Rescuers and Medical Teams
Teams from the Directorate General "Fire Safety and Civil Protection", the regional directorate in Blagoevgrad and the local service in Bansko worked at the site. The Mountain Rescue Service of the Bulgarian Red Cross, the dog rescue team, medical teams, the Emergency Rescue Unit from Blagoevgrad and representatives of Pirin National Park also took part.
Teams from the Air Force and "Bulgaria Heli Med Service" were also included in the exercise. However, aviation equipment did not take part in the practical operations because of thick fog and rain in the mountains, Focus reported.
"The main idea of the exercise is to practice coordination in the event of an accident involving an aircraft on the territory of the country," said Anelia Marinova, director general of the DG CAA, as quoted by BTA.
Focus on Information Exchange
According to Marinova, it is important for the participants in the rescue system to know one another and for everyone to know their role in an emergency situation. "We have prepared a scenario that the weather will disprove today, but in this way we will train for a situation in which we will not be fully prepared for what awaits us," she said.
Chief Commissioner Aleksandar Dzhartov, director of the Directorate General for Fire Safety and Civil Protection, said that the main tasks included the rapid exchange of information, coordination between the teams at the scene and the provision of additional resources when necessary. According to him, similar drills are organized annually at different locations across the country.
Bansko Mayor Stoycho Banenski said that the mountain municipality was a suitable choice because of the area's specific characteristics and risks. "Bansko is a mountain municipality, and we know very well what its potential is, but also what the risks of this are," he said.
The exercise was held with the support of the ski area concessionaire "Yulen" AD and Bansko Municipality. It was not a response to an actual plane incident, but a planned training exercise for the rescue services.