Accra, Dec. 06, GNA - The Ghana Airports Company limited(GACL), on Wednesday conducted a full scale emergency exercise on Search and Rescue at sea, at the Teshie coast line in Accra. The exercise which lasted from 1000 hours till about 1400 hours, was to sharpen the skills of various agencies with the responsibility to perform search and rescue functions in aviation.

Dubbed; "SAREX OGBOOLE," the exercise took the form of a simulation of an aircraft crash at sea with the subsequent response by the various agencies which make up the Emergency Operations Control Group. The exercise was observed by a team of observers from the International Civil Aviation Organization and participated by representatives from the Ghana Navy, Ghana Army, Ghana Airforce, Military Hospital and the Ghana Police Service.

Others were the Airline Operators Committee, Ghana Maritime Authority, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority as well as personnel from the media. Speaking after the exercise, Mrs Essie Anno Sackey, Managing Director of the GACL, commended all participants and said, with safety being a key word in aviation, such exercises were indispensable. Mr Simon Allotey, Acting Director General of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, said the exercise did not only seek to sharpen the skills of participating agencies but also to discover shortcomings in their response to a crisis situations. He said this would enable them to improve upon their skills and thus become better prepared for such emergencies.