THE LJUBELJ 2013 EXERCISE

Abstract

Friday, 12th April 2013. In late afternoon, a collision occurred approximately at a half tunnel’s length on Ljubelj between a multi-purpose vehicle heading towards Austria and a bus heading towards Slovenia. Two people remained stuck in the multi-purpose vehicle, while the number of bus passengers was unknown. The bus provided tourist transport services and neither the passengers nor the driver spoke German or Slovene, and their English language skills were insufficient for basic communication. The bus passengers were not seriously injured, but quite a few were frightened. A tailback occurred in the tunnel. The bus driver pressed the emergency reporting button located in one of the tunnel niches to inform of the tunnel accident. Having received the signal for help, the operator from the Motorway Company of the Republic of Slovenia’s Control Centre at Hrušica notified the operator from the Regional Notification Centre Kranj of the Ljubelj tunnel incident. Calls to the emergency number 112 were also received from people who were stuck in the tunnel. The Regional Notification Centre Kranj immediately initiated notification and mobilisation procedures. The exercise was attended by rescue units from Austria (Carinthia and the Styria) and from Slovenia (from the Gorenjska region). A few minutes after the collision, most passengers headed towards the tunnel exits: some headed towards Austria and some towards Slovenia. The multi-purpose vehicle started to smoulder, and the smoke and the smell of burnt plastic spread through the tunnel tube. The purpose of the exercise was to test emergency response plans at all levels, while the planners will be able to use lessons learned in the exercise in updating and upgrading of emergency response plans as well as of overall concept of response to accidents in longer single-tube road tunnels.