ALOR GAJAH: A total of 163 participants from various agencies participated in the Search and Rescue Exercise (Sarex) to strengthen the readiness of search and rescue (SAR) operations.
Malaysian Maritime Enforce-ment Agency (MMEA) SAR division principal assistant director Mohd Ariz Md Kassim said the exercise aims to identify and test the efficiency of existing assets from various agencies.
“This training involves the specific expertise possessed by each agency in implementing SAR operations by involving the police, the Health Ministry, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Civil Defence Force.
“Sarex Level 3 was implemented over two days through the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre in Johor Baru,” he said after closing the programme here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Mohd Ariz said Sarex this time involved 12 land and sea assets from various government and private agencies, including TAG Marine Sdn Bhd, which also played an important role in making the exercise a success.
“The participation of officers from various agencies has allowed different ideas and expertise to be coordinated to solve real emergency cases in the future,” he said.
In addition to the simulated field training, there was also a standard operating procedure briefing related to SAR operations by representatives of each agency.