BALIK PULAU: An exercise to simulate an emergency at the Penang International Airport turned real when one of the participants, a firefighter, suffered a heart attack at the “scene” of an “air crash”.
As the exercise, codenamed “Ex-Harimau Kumbang Aerodrome”, went into full swing, firefighter Shafie Hasan, who played the role of a rescuer ferrying an “injured” passenger from a “stricken aircraft”, collapsed near the runway.
Photographers at the event initially assumed this was part of the drill and continued snapping photos for a few minutes before realising that the firefighter had really collapsed.
A medical team, then leapt into action and began to deliver first aid to 59-year-old Shafie.
He was eventually driven away in an ambulance, but died at the hospital.
State Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Mojtar, who confirmed the incident, said investigations would be conducted and it would issue an update soon.
The organiser of the exercise, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, eventually permitted the day’s programme to resume after the firefighter had been rushed away for treatment.
The seven-hour drill, which saw the participation of more than 500 personnel from 15 emergency responder units, focused on measures and actions to be taken in the event of an emergency at the airport.
Apart from the Fire and Rescue Department, the Penang Health Department and police were also involved in the exercise.
The exercise is a biennial event, which is meant to mimic a full-scale air crash
