More than 130 crime officers took part in a Casualty Documentation Team (CDT) exercise held by Crime New Territories South Regional Headquarters (Crime NTS Regional HQ) on May 6.

The exercise simulated a scenario in which a pipeline explosion at an oil depot on Tsing Yi led to the overturning of a coach, injuring 50 workers on board and passersby.

Forty-five crime officers from Crime NTS Regional HQ, Shatin District, Kwai Tsing District and Tsuen Wan District formed seven CDTs and went to various casualty locations for documentation. On the other hand, 70 crime officers from Crime NTS Regional HQ posed as injured persons, rescue team members, uniformed officers and staff of the Casualty Enquiry Unit (CEU). Over 10 officers of inspectorate rank or above acted as observers.

The exercise, prepared by the Regional Crime Unit NTS Team 1, aimed to test the capability of CDTs in recording the casualties' details, locating witnesses, identifying possible suspects and investigating whether any criminal element was involved in the incident. Communication between the CDT command post and frontline officers, and the command post's co-ordination with CEU also came under test.

By the end of the exercise, CDTs located all injured persons with proper documentation. This helped the CEU in compiling the casualty database. Then all participants attended a sharing session to talk about the challenges encountered and identify areas for improvement.

Senior Superintendent of Crime NTS Regional HQ Pang Mo-yin appreciated the professionalism displayed by all participants, adding that regular CDT exercise would better equip crime officers in handling major incidents and disasters.