A major anti-terrorism drill was held in Tan Son Nhat international airport, Ho Chi Minh City, on November 26, involving an umbrella squad of over 200 strong.
The force consists of fire fighters, military, police, health workers of HCM City, people from the Vietnam Aviation Management Corporation, the Southern Aviation Management Company and the anti-terrorism department (Southern agency under the Ministry of Public Security).
The drill was conducted on the assumption that a group of interrupters illegally armed with weapons and explosives had occupied the HCM City-based Air Control Centre (ACC) and held hostages. They demanded authorities let them go and a 500,000 USD ransom in exchange of hostages.
The squad members were instantly present at the scene to defuse explosives and control the interrupters and finally free hostages safely.
The exercise finished successfully, helping responsible agencies to examine and evaluate skills and technical performance of their staffs in case of terror attacks./.
