An accident simulation involving 33 victims and more than 180 personnel tests emergency response capacity at Palma Intermodal Station

The exercise, coordinated between SFM and the Directorate General for Emergencies, brought together more than one hundred personnel and strengthens preparedness in high-capacity environments

Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM), together with the Government of the Balearic Islands’ Directorate General for Emergencies and Interior and the Mallorca Transport Consortium, carried out a large-scale accident simulation exercise at Palma Intermodal Station, an initiative aimed at strengthening safety and emergency response capacity in one of the island’s main transport infrastructures. For this reason, the station was partially closed and both the TIB bus network services — with alternative stops for the different lines — and rail services were affected.

More than 180 personnel from different agencies, security and emergency services, healthcare teams and other professionals took part in the exercise. Participants included the National Police, Palma Local Police, Guardia Civil, Palma and Mallorca Fire Brigades, SAMU 061 emergency medical services, Civil Protection, the station’s private security staff, the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, the Official College of Psychologists of the Balearic Islands, and SFM operational and security staff, in a joint operation highlighting the importance of coordination between services to ensure an effective response.

The exercise made it possible to test coordination between the different services in a complex scenario involving multiple casualties, smoke, evacuation difficulties and blocked access points. It was attended by the Director General for Mobility, Lorena del Valle; the General Manager of SFM, José Ramón Orta; and the General Manager of the Mallorca Transport Consortium, Luisa Serra, as well as the head of the Mallorca Fire Brigade, Xisco Bonnin, and several representatives of the participating agencies and organisations.

Accident and fire with casualties at the bus platforms

The simulation recreated an accident involving 33 victims (six fatalities and 27 injured people) in the bus platform area of the Intermodal Station, involving a vehicle collision followed by a fire that created a highly demanding operational situation and required the activation of emergency and self-protection protocols.

During the exercise, 33 victims were simulated, allowing the activation of healthcare response, triage and evacuation protocols in a highly complex environment, as well as the evaluation of management capacity under conditions of significant operational pressure.

The Directorate General for Emergencies and Interior (DGEI) also played a key role in the exercise. Due to the seriousness of the simulated emergency, the DGEI activated PLATERBAL (the Territorial Civil Protection Plan of the Balearic Islands) in order to support the local authorities — Palma Fire Brigade and Local Police — which intervened from the outset and had previously activated both the Intermodal Station Self-Protection Plan and the PlaTerPalma plan.

The activation of PLATERBAL enabled the deployment of additional services and human and logistical resources to the emergency operation. From the 112 Emergency Coordination Centre, an emergency technician was dispatched to the scene to act as the contact person responsible for assistance, information and support for victims and their relatives. Their role included identifying fatalities, assisting survivors and family members, and providing them with the necessary information and support.

In addition, the Directorate General for Emergencies also activated psychological support services and social workers, who were deployed to the Intermodal Station to provide assistance to victims and relatives.

Station closure and impact on public transport

For the implementation of this exercise, and as previously announced last Wednesday and in the days leading up to the event, the Intermodal Station was temporarily closed and train, metro and interurban bus services were affected.

Train and metro services were disrupted between 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., as services arriving at and departing from the Intermodal Station instead terminated and originated from the previous station, Jacint Verdaguer. Following the completion of the exercise, services returned to normal operation.

Regarding the TIB interurban bus network, throughout the day the origin and termination points of the different lines were relocated to alternative stops across Palma.

During the day, the interruption was also used to carry out improvement works on the station’s bus entrance and exit ramps, with the aim of enhancing the safety and efficiency of the service.