On Saturday Greek health officials and Olympic security experts held a disaster planning exercise, following five days of meetings aimed at reviewing health preparations for possible terrorist attacks during the Athens 2004 Summer Games.
A mock field hospital was set up at the seaside Hellenikon Olympic Complex, site of the Athens’ old airport where the exercises were held. They included two three-hour drills to plan for the resources needed to respond to attacks with chemical agents or a dirty bomb. The site is the venue of a number of Olympic events, including baseball and hockey.
The week-long closed-door meetings were coordinated by the health ministry’s Center for Infectious Disease Control and the public order ministry’s Olympic Games Security Division.
Greece is receiving advice on terrorism form seven countries but Athens is also seeking support from NATO and European Union countries to draw up contingency plans – including evaluations, vaccines and other provisions – to deal with a natural disaster or possible terrorism attack during the Games.
Next month Greece is staging a large-scale security exercise that will include U.S. troops.
