Hong Kong leads Guangdong and Macau rescuers in cross-border disaster drill
Operation tests coordination and command system in which rescue vehicles from other places in Greater Bay Area are deployed to Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department has led Guangdong and Macau rescuers in a cross-border disaster drill, with the city’s fire chief pledging to improve emergency response cooperation within the Greater Bay Area.
On Wednesday, rescuers from Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau simulated four possible scenarios in which a serious typhoon hits the city in the morning and the joint team performs marine rescue missions outside Sam Ka Tsuen ferry pier at Lei Yue Mun.
Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin told reporters that the 48-hour Hong Kong-led drill would test an activation mechanism for joint emergency response and practical cooperation, as laid out in a cooperation agreement signed last year.
“We hope to test a green channel laid out in the agreement on how rescue vehicles can come to Hong Kong swiftly, as well as the coordination and command system,” Yeung said, referring to a special passage for rescuers from Guangdong and Macau to come to the city.
The drill mobilised 135 rescuers from the three places, including 60 from Hong Kong. The Fire and Rescue Corps of Guangdong Province dispatched 60 rescuers and 13 vehicles for the drill, while the Macau Fire Services Bureau sent 15 officers and five vehicles.
All rescuers and vehicles arrived in Hong Kong at 4pm on Tuesday after the city’s Fire Services Department issued a call at noon to start the drill.