Anti-terrorism drill in Bangkok

BANGKOK, June 27 (TNA) – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) conducted an exercise to respond to a mock bombing with radioactivity, to raise public confidence. The BMA’s Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation organized the Crisis Management Exercise 2017 (C-MEX 17) at the Thai-Japanese Youth Center. Officials imitated a bombing situation in which there were many injured people as well as chemical and radioactive contamination. In the drill, the BMA set up a command center at the City Hall and had a video conference with the prime minister at Government House. Participants in the exercise included soldiers, police, and officials from the Office of Atoms for Peace. The Counter Terrorist Operations Center supervised the drill. Maj Gen Traithep Sriphanwong, chief-of-staff of the center, said chemical and radioactive contamination was included in the annual drill so that concerned officials were ready to respond to new forms of security threats. Given a series of bombings in Bangkok this year, the Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation also held an emergency response drill at the Thailand Cultural Centre station of Bangkok’s subway to boost public confidence. (TNA)