Switzerland drills with EU rescuers in Geneva and Payerne

Switzerland is holding its first earthquake disaster exercise on Swiss soil with rescuers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, SRF reported. The drill is taking place in Geneva and Payerne and runs until Thursday.

At a training ground for Geneva’s rescue services in Epeisses, near the French border, civil protection teams are searching rubble for people trapped beneath collapsed buildings. They are breaking through concrete with jackhammers, while search dogs stand ready to enter the wreckage. Teams at the military airfield in Payerne are installing a mobile air surveillance facility.

The scenario assumes the disaster quickly overwhelms Switzerland, prompting the federal government to request help from abroad. Responders travelling from Payerne to Geneva are part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and come from countries including Italy, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria and Armenia.

Exercise co-leader Rebecca Dinkelbach said no country could manage a major earthquake disaster using its own resources alone. Switzerland has taken part this year in five rescue exercises in EU countries, involving scenarios such as explosions, wildfires and floods.

Switzerland wants to become an active member of the EU mechanism, said Anja Zbinden of the Federal Office for Civil Protection. The country is in talks with the EU. Although Switzerland is not an EU member, that is not a barrier to joining the mechanism, which also includes 10 non-EU countries.

The article notes that the mechanism recently offered assistance to Switzerland after the fire disaster in Crans-Montana. European rescue teams helped transport and provide medical care for fire victims. The Geneva and Payerne exercise also includes a simulated aftershock, with teams working day and night.