Anti-terrorist operation drills held at Sants train station in Barcelona

On Thursday night into Friday morning, Catalan authorities and emergency services took part in an anti-terrorist operational drill at Sants train station in Barcelona.

The simulated attack featured multiple fatalities and injuries, and aimed to test the operational response of the security forces and the healthcare system for victims of a terrorist attack.

At around 1:35 am on Friday, several mock terrorists entered Sants train station and started firing guns and using knives to attack commuters. Catalan Mossos d’Esquadra police and local Guàrdia Urbana police had to intervene while reinforcements were called.

The exercise was part of the drills that sites such as Sants station develop each year, and this year authorities were conducting a simulation of a terrorist attack to better their response to a potential real-life situation.

“The drill is not a result of current international affairs, it has been an ongoing project for months,” Joan Ignasi Elena, Catalan interior minister, told media outlets during a press conference ahead of the drill.

Even though Catalonia remains at level 4 out of 5 in its terrorist alert level, law enforcement agents have in fact increased security around places related to Israel and Palestine.

Around 500 people took part in the drill, including members of the emergency services, security teams, train station staff, and extras.

The events took place in several areas of the station, including the entrance, the platforms, and some establishments. During the drill, Mossos had to activate checkpoints across Catalonia as one of the terrorists escaped in a white vehicle.

More than 170 troops and 30 vehicles from different units of the Mossos d'Esquadra took part in the drill. Guàrdia Urbana and Civil Protection officers also participated. Among those deployed were officers from BRIMO and ARRO, the highest trained law enforcement agents in the force.

Healthcare professionals from the SEM, Red Cross and CAT112 were also deployed, as were workers from Barcelona Social Emergency and Emergencies Center (CUESB). For the first time in this drill, authorities implemented what they learned from the Barcelona and Cambrils 2017 terrorist attacks. Once all the injured were in a secure area, psychologists attended to those who needed immediate attention.

Around 250 students of health emergency responses and security were part of the simulation, playing the roles of passengers and people who were at the station at the time of the attack. Professional make-up students also participated.

“It is a very complex drill,” Ignasi Elena said, something that Josep Saumell, head of the Mossos d’Esquadra police in the drill, agreed with: “It’s the most complicated and extensive simulation we have ever done.”

During the night, hundreds of volunteers played the roles of injured people, forcing agents from both Guàrdia Urbana and Mossos d’Esquadra to coordinate with emergency services who arrived on the scene minutes after the first fireguns were heard.

The drill continued for hours well into Friday morning until 3 am.