Klagenfurt Airport rehearses response to plane and bus crash

Emergency services tested their coordination at Klagenfurt Airport on Saturday in a simulated collision between a plane and a bus, ORF reported. The exercise was part of the disaster response drill Combined Success.

More than 30 extras played casualties, simulating injuries and being rescued from mock-ups of the aircraft and bus. Dense fog and props representing burning engines added to the challenges for responders.

More than 100 personnel from the Red Cross, ÖAMTC, police, the Austrian Armed Forces, Austro Control and the official incident command practised rescue operations, initial medical care and cooperation between organisations. Regular flight operations continued without restriction.

Airport operations manager Harald Stotz said the airport was important for international aid shipments. It also serves as a base for rescue helicopters and a receiving point for international aid deliveries. Its infrastructure is designed to withstand earthquakes.

Other scenarios across Carinthia included bridge collapses and cable-car accidents in Wernberg and Baldramsdorf. In the Rosental, the exercise assumed an earthquake had destroyed an entire settlement. Seven helicopters took part in the drill, which runs until Sunday.

At a news conference, Carinthia disaster response coordinator Christian Gamsler reported 59 simulated emergency incidents across the state. The exercise also tested electricity and gas supplies, with 27,000 households assumed to be without service.