Elite police officers being trained to handle accidents on Sri Lanka’s first highway

Sri Lanka will deploy elite Special Task Force (STF) police officers to handle the emergencies on the soon-to-be-opened Southern Expressway, the government media said.

Under the instructions of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a first-aid program to train 35 Special Task Force officers to handle the accidents on the highway commenced Monday (22) with the coordination of the Head Matron of the Colombo National Hospital, Pushpa Ramani Soysa.

The program, aimed at saving the lives of injured passengers, will train first responding officers to provide first aid at the scene before emergency services arrive.

The STF officers are being trained at the Colombo National Hospital. They will be provided the training on instant first aid and taking injured people to hospitals immediately, Director of the Accident and Orthopaedic Service, Dr. Prasad Ariyawansa has said.

Minister Maithripala Sirisena said that the training will be conducted for one month and is being handled by the Accident Service of the Colombo National Hospital. (www.colombopage.com)