Thursday, October 25, 2012

Fire and Rescue Department sorry for misleading Facebook post - Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Malaysia

 MISLEADING INFORMATION: The Facebook posting by the Fire and Rescue Department caused people to panic and inquire about the ‘crash’ 

 

A screenshot of the posting on the Fire and Rescue Department’s Facebook page on the drill and the queries from the public that followed.

KUALA LUMPUR:  The Fire and Rescue Department expressed regret and apologized for the Facebook posting on a drill simulating a plane crash at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Wednesday.The post was mistaken for a real crash and had sparked panic in cyberspace. The public were led to believe that 14 people had died in the incident.

 Department director-general Datuk Wan Mohd Wan Ibrahim assured the public such an incident would not happen again.

On Wednesday, the official Fire and Rescue Department Facebook page had posted that a ATR 72 plane had crashed in KKIA.

The report described 14 people had been killed. About 10 minutes after it was posted, the administrator retracted the post after receiving numerous queries on its Facebook account from distraught and worried members of the public.

The department later posted an apology and clarified that it was only a drill and no such incident had taken place.

The drill by 70 volunteers, including Malaysia Airports Bhd, took place from 10.50pm on Tuesday until midnight but the posting was uploaded only yesterday.

"It was an honest mistake and we are terribly sorry for the misunderstanding.

"I am aware that it caused panic among the public. We will be more careful in sharing information.

"We have cautioned the administrator regarding the issue and we will monitor what goes on the page closely."

Asked if any action would be taken against the officer, Wan Mohd said no, as the officer followed the standard operating procedure.

"Before breaking the 'news', he had checked with the control centre and followed all the guidelines. His work record also showed that he was efficient in carrying out his duties.

"But we still had to warn him as it was the right thing to do and we could not afford to compromise on something like this."

Wan Mohd said the only reason the department only had one officer manning the page was to minimize room for error in sharing false information.

"If there is more than one person assigned to the web page, we fear it could create unwanted confusion among the unit itself and give them the opportunity to pass the buck to others if a mistake were to occur."

http://www.nst.com.my

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