Major Coast guard exercise simulates ferry rescue

Should a ferry ever be engulfed in flames off the Irish coastline with a threat to the lives of dozens of passengers and crew, those who may be involved in the emergency response have a flavour of what to expect following a major training exercise yesterday.

Nine agencies and over 180 personnel came together at Waterford Airport and five kilometres off the coast of Hook Head to help the emergency services assess how well they would work together and respond to this type of disaster.

It was the latest in a series of major emergency training exercises which take place about once a year and among those represented yesterday were the Irish Coast Guard, Civil Defence, RNLI, Air Corps, Army, Naval Service, National Ambulance Service, An Garda Síochána, and the Waterford Fire Services.