Deputy Minister of Transport Mr Jeremy Cronin will deliver a keynote address at the opening session of the regional field search and rescue exercise. He will be joined by the representatives of search and rescue team in the SADAC region, members of mayoral committees, Head of Department and CEO of transport entities and members of the community.
It is anticipated that air and maritime traffic will increase during the 2010 FIFA World Cupas the majority of fans and cargo will be transported through these modes of transport. Therefore the primary purpose of this exercise is to evaluate the effectiveness of our search and rescue system as well as those of neighbouring countries and take corrective action to ensure the following:
* The region’s readiness to deal with any aeronautical and maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) catastrophes including 2010 and beyond
* Effective alerting, mobilization and management of limited SAR resources and the welfare of survivors of such incidents
* The reliability of individual and joint search and rescue operations within the SADAC region
* Compliance with policies, procedures and best practices
* Evaluation of existing SAR technology and where necessary implement upgrades.
The details of the event are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Time: 10h30 for 11h00
Venue: Ingqiya Village,Himeville(Underberg) KwaZulu-Natal
The guidelines are to assist member states in meeting their own search and rescue needs and obligations they accepted under the convention on international civil aviation, the international convention on maritime search and rescue and the international convention for safety of life at sea.
The exercise will be conducted in line with and in tested terms of the requirements of international standards and recommended practices to maintain a high level of competency.
Enquiries:
Sam Monareng
Cell: 083 326 1521
Issued by: Department of Transport
26 October 2009
Source: Sapa
