Simulation exercise based on Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower disaster

The exercise will simulate the response to the collapse of the Spinnaker Tower

Emergency services are due to stage a disaster simulation exercise based on Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower collapsing.

The four-day SIMEX Series exercise is designed to test disaster event response plans and procedures.

The exercise will simulate the response to a mass-casualty collapse of the 170m (560ft) waterfront landmark after being hit by a ferry.

Organisers described it as the biggest exercise of its kind in the UK.

Local, national and international emergency response organisations will be taking part in the exercise, which will run until Friday.

Nursing staff and doctors from Queen Alexandra (QA) hospital will join nursing academics and medical students from the University of Portsmouth.

Melanie Tanner, senior teaching fellow, said participants would encounter "a variety of patients with both physical and mental health conditions".

"The whole exercise is an educational activity for all of the team involved and as such there will be certain points in the day that we will freeze action to enable everyone to learn from some more significant presenting injuries," she added.

The annual SIMEX Series exercise, which started in 2012, comprises a mix of live, simulation and command and control events in order to test both national and international emergency responses to disasters.

The exercise will also have a number of scenarios based on a refugee incident at other sites in Portsmouth.

It is designed to test responses to a major earthquake and volcanic eruption resulting in a humanitarian disaster including severe flooding, environmental pollution, collapsed buildings and displacement of people.