Oxford search exercise

Press, 19 May 1984, Page 3

Oxford search exercise

Search-and-rescue organisations from throughout Canterbury are involved in a big exercise at Oxford, North Canterbury, this week-end. The exercise covered the whole of the Christchurch police district and was designed to give search-and-rescue personnel practical training, said a Federated Mountain Club’s search-and-rescue land advisor, Mr lan Gardiner. Teams of searchers, members of the police search-and-rescue squad, the Red Cross and members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps gathered at the St Joseph’s Scout Group Lodge, in the Oxford State Forest, last evening and were to begin the search at dawn today. They would spend today and tomorrow looking for a group of children missing after a school trip to a water-fall in the area, said Mr Gardiner.

“The general scenario is that the children and their teacher are from Pleasant Point, in South Canterbury, so are strangers to the area.” The “school teacher” is a local forestry ranger and the five children with him are the sons and daughters of people involved with search and rescue. Nearly 100 people were involved in the exercise, with eight parties of searchers out looking for the group and the rest providing support and controlling the exercise from the base camp, he said. “The police are in charge and each search party has a member of the police search-and-rescue squad with it. “A field controller and his

deputy are appointed to direct the parties, which are in constant communication by radio.”

Several search-and-rescue advisors were there to act as umpires. They ensured the exercise ran smoothly and took corrective action if any difficulties arose. “Whoever is appointed field controller is really only in training and if he does something silly the advisors would suggest something else. The advisors also judge the performance of the controller and his deputy and at the debrief session tomorrow evening would tell them what they did wrong or any good points they saw,” said Mr Gardiner. Searchers were given only a few basic facts and a brief description of the children before the exercise began. To make the search more difficult the advisors would be thinking up a few “nasty, dirty tricks” to play on the search parties, such as sending one group out with a faulty radio, said Mr Gardiner. Radio communications were provided by the Amateur Radio Emergency Corps, food at the base camp by the Red Cross emergency team, and the New Zealand Army helped with tentage and transport, he said. “An exercise like this is held once a year and we have had no major hiccups in the 10 years that I have been involved,” said Mr Gardiner.