ST MARY, Jamaica — The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) will conduct a mass casualty incident response exercise on Thursday to test the country’s emergency response to a large-scale airliner crash in the Portland/St Mary offshore region.

Executive Officer of Maritime Air and Cyber Command (MACC), Commander Alvin Gayle, said that the exercise aims to enhance preparedness and coordination among various emergency entities in the event of a real-life mass casualty incident.

“The crash scenario is a simulated airliner crash involving approximately 330 persons. On the day, we will seek to recover 120 individuals or objects from the water,” he informed.

“We do expect to have a number of ships, including Jamaican ships offshore that area. We do expect to have a number of aircraft and drones facilitating the rescue efforts and the locating of the crash site,” Gayle added.

He indicated that response operations will include low-flying aircraft nearshore for search and rescue, which will then take persons/objects ashore to a triage area managed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

“You will see the activation of ambulances, erection of the triage areas. You might see several doctors running around. You will also see some people with ‘injuries’ to give our team some triage work to do,” he pointed out, noting that a team of medical professionals will be present to manage any unexpected injuries or incidents during the exercise.

Gayle said that residents and visitors near the Portland and St Mary coastal areas are advised that this is a planned exercise and there is no need to be alarmed as no explosives or harmful materials will be used.

The simulation exercise, which involves collaboration with regional and international partners, is part of the activities under the ongoing Exercise Event Horizon 2025, a multinational, multiagency and multi-domain exercise.

It runs from January 12 to 26 in Jamaica, The Cayman Islands and offshore Haiti.

This is the third iteration of the exercise, which is being hosted by the Maritime Air and Cyber Command (MACC) of the JDF with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Global Maritime Crime Program (UNODC GMCP).