BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Hengyi Industries Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between China and Brunei, conducted an emergency response exercise at Pulau Muara Besar Industrial Park (PMB) to test the readiness and response plan of Hengyi as well as various related agencies.

According to a statement from Hengyi on Thursday, with the collaboration of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), Hengyi organized the Tier 3 Emergency Response Tabletop Exercise on Wednesday, aiming to test the readiness and the response plan of Hengyi as well as various government, non-government, and private sector agencies in managing a major incident and evacuation in PMB to minimize risks and avoid casualties.

The drill simulated a gas pipe leak in the Aromatics Complex unit. In the exercise, Hengyi's Emergency Response Team and Emergency Coordination Team were activated as the first line of responders to carry out an evacuation.

A total of 95 personnel from 19 departments and agencies, including the Ministry of Health, Royal Brunei Police Force, NDMC, Royal Brunei Armed Forces, participated in the exercise.

Also present to observe and evaluate the drill were officials from the Ministry of Energy, Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA) and Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam.

Hengyi had previously conducted a number of Industry Tier 1, 2 and 3 Emergency Response Exercises. Tier 1 Emergency Response Exercises simulate a small-scale incident that can be managed by Hengyi itself, Tier 2 simulates an emergency incident in a localized area, and Tier 3 simulates an emergency incident that escalated to a national-level incident.