300 crew members and 200 members from different state authorities participated in the first mass evacuation exercise in La Valetta Grand Harbor in Malta. The operation was organized by Malta Transport department on board the Costa Crociere cruise ship, Costa neoRiviera
This exercise involved 300 members of the ship's crew, which in the exercise scenario were "passengers" who had to be evacuated following an emergency call to the Harbor Coordination Center in Malta. The exercise also involved 200 other people from different entities, some of them voluntarily. These included members of the Police Force and the Armed Forces, which is the authority responsible for the evacuation of people from the sea, Civil Protection, the Red Cross and – health departments, especially the Accident and Emergency Department.
The operation – named Maltex-Evac 2017 - made it possible to test the operation of the security measures when an accident involving many people occurs. This drill is part of the "Picasso" project for the development and security of transportation systems co-financed by the European Union.
Photos by: Department of Information (Malta)
