Kolkata, Feb 28 (PTI) The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Friday conducted a full-scale search and rescue (SAR) operation, simulating a distress scenario involving an aircraft, in West Bengal's Howrah district, officials said.

The coordinated operation involved Kolkata Air Traffic Control (ATC), the Indian Air Force, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the District Disaster Management Authority, other agencies and local administration.

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The scenario involved a fictitious flight, en route from Raipur to Kolkata, which disappeared from radar over Jamshedpur.

Following this, Kolkata ATC activated the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), which in turn alerted all agencies. A SAR operation was initiated after receiving the distress signal.

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The RCC coordinated with local administration and disaster response teams to locate the missing aircraft, a Cessna 172 plane. A yellow-coloured wooden replica of the aircraft was used for the purpose.

A model crash site had already been positioned at Uluberia in Howrah district for the drill. A helicopter from Barrackpore in North 24 Parganas district was dispatched to locate the aircraft, which was spotted as a small yellow wreckage surrounded by onlookers.

Rescue teams arrived at the site, evacuated all five simulated passengers and provided them with medical aid, officials said.

“The exercise effectively demonstrated the efficiency of coordinated emergency response procedures,” an AAI spokesperson said in a statement.

“Kolkata RCC confirmed that the exercise was executed smoothly, yielding valuable insights into preparedness, decision-making, and operational efficiency among the participating agencies,” it said.

The exercise was conducted in presence of Nivedita Dubey, Regional Executive Director of AAI's Eastern Region and T F Moosa, Executive Director (Air Space Management), and other AAI officials.

The drill was part of the National Aeronautical Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX 2025) which concluded on Friday.

On the first day of the event, a seminar was organised in Kolkata featuring experts on cutting-edge SAR technologies, best practices, and inter-agency collaboration.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)