A dummy run for fictional bomb scare on local tram

EMERGENCY procedures were rolled out after a backpack was found on an Alicante City tram.

The driver who had pulled in at the La Marina station warned the control centre which in turn contacted the emergency services who rushed to the scene.

The situation was less serious than it appeared, however, because this was a dry run for what would happen if the worst were ever to happen and the abandoned backpack had contained a bomb.

The exercise organised by the Valencia region’s rail operator Ferrocarriles de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV) was devised to check the Tram’s Protection Plan procedures and evaluate their efficiency in coordinating the groups involved in an emergency situation, said an FGV spokesman.

As well as FGV personnel, firemen took part in the drill together with the Generalitat’s Emergency Coordination Centre, the regional Emergency Information and Coordination Centre and the Local, autonomous and National Police forces.   Security guards, the Emergency Health Centre, Proteccion Civil’s Technical Department and city hall’s Emergency Management service also participated in the fictional bomb scare.

More than 100 people joined in the exercise, which included the National Police’s canine unit and Tedax bomb disposal experts.