US: Huge New York rehearsal for next terror strike
18 May 2009 1:50 AM
NEW YORK, May 17 AFP - Hundreds of firefighters and police have swarmed Ground Zero, the site where the World Trade Centre once stood, in the largest security exercise in New York since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
As part of an elaborate dress rehearsal for a possible future terror strike, rescue workers exploded simulated bombs in a commuter train tunnel linking Manhattan to New Jersey beneath the Hudson River.
"Full-scale exercises like today's give us an opportunity to practice how to integrate the vast response resources available in New York City and establish a command structure under the Citywide Incident Management System," said Joseph Bruno, commissioner at the city's Office of Emergency Management.
As the tunnel filled with smoke, scores of firefighters wearing oxygen masks practiced manoeuvres to rescue up to 800 passengers -- the number who might be expected to become stranded in the event of a disaster.
In fact, there were about 150 volunteers playing the role of passengers aboard the train early on Sunday, usually a time of light travel along the city's commuter train line.
New York is still scarred by the September 11 attacks in which al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked two commercial planes and slammed them into the World Trade Centre, destroying the iconic twin towers.
Just under 3,000 people were killed in the attacks in which two other airliners were also hijacked, one slamming into the side of the Pentagon and the other crashing into a Pennsylvania field after passengers overpowered the hijackers.
