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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Saturday attended a tactical exercise carried out by the Civil Defense Department (CDD) in cooperation with the specialized military and civilian entities in Aqaba Governorate.

The King was welcomed by CDD Director General Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bazayea as he arrived at the site of the drill, dubbed "Thaghr al-Urdun1", where His Royal Highness Crown Prince Hussein joined CDD personnel in part of the drill.

After a briefing on the exercise, the Supreme Commander called at the field command tent to check on control operations to coordinate the progress of the exercise.

His Majesty and the audience watched the various functions, which simulated a fire that broke out on board a ship and caused a chemical leak that triggered explosions in a major storage tank on the pier trapping a number of people and leaving many injured.

Ambulance, rescue and fire crews as well as a hazardous materials team and an international search and rescue party were handling the situation in cooperation with the relevant military and civilian agencies involved in firefighting, evacuation and medical air ambulance operations.

The exercise also featured the use of the MI-26 heavy lift aircraft, capable of holding 15,000 liters of water and is equipped with 60 beds for medical evacuations.

Crown Prince Hussein participated in the rescue and evacuation of the injured, using ambulance boats that were recently introduced into service under royal directives to complete the CDD land, sea and air ambulance, rescue and fire services.

The participants displayed a high level of professionalism in dealing with accidents and coordinating with the various entities and the ability to work under the various circumstances.

Addressing the participants, the Supreme Commander said: "Proud of the courageous men of the civil defense and all the other participants," expressing his admiration of the "distinguished" level they had reached and the close coordination between all the participants.

The exercise, which was attended by senior civilian and military officials, is to check on the readiness of the CDD's specialized teams and raise the level of coordination and effective participation among all national agencies dealing with major accidents.