The more than 12,000 students from all the educational centres of Torrevieja have taken part in a special drill which simulated a seismic emergency, held on the 194th anniversary of the 1829 earthquake that destroyed but of the area, known generally as the Torrevieja earthquake.

Torrevieja town hall had organised the event to coincide with the anniversary of the disaster that cost hundreds of lives and damaged thousands of properties and involved around 80 rescuers from the combined emergency services, including the Local Police, Guardia Civil, Fire Service, emergency medical teams, and Civil Protection.

IN order to coordinate the emergency, which also included the medical helicopter, a command post was set up at the Torrevieja fire station, which has a heliport.

In two educational centres (CEIP Cuba and the IES Mare Nostrum) an operational control was installed, with the rescues that would be made in the event of a catastrophe of this type. In addition, a communications failure has been simulated.

At the IES Mare Nostrum, an injured person was rescued, performing the “slide” manoeuvre. An extendable ladder being placed, and descending the injured person with a stretcher sliding on the ladder itself and transferred to the health resource.

In addition, a seriously injured person has been rescued in an area inaccessible to the school. The special rescue group has carried out the rescue with the Alfa1 helicopter, immobilising the wounded man on a stretcher and carrying out an extraction with a crane from the roof of the institute.

Likewise, at the same time, in the CEIP Cuba, the location of a girl buried by rubble with a rescue dog was carried out, proceeding to the mobilisation of the injured person on a stretcher and the extraction with transfer to the health services.

A drone team has also participated, based in the San Vicente fire station, to see from the air the situation of the school in the event of a collapse and ensure that no people remained inside.