General Responses to
Emergencies
In the event of a
crisis (selected examples provided throughout this document), the plan may be
initiated by the tour leader on the trip.
Emergency
1: Ill or Injured Student/Faculty
1. Tour leader
will seek appropriate medical care from a qualified medical
professional for the ill or injured
participant. If the tour leader becomes ill
or is injured a designated tour member (leader)
will seek appropriate
care for the ill/injured person. The tour
member will then contact the
travel agency.
2. The tour
leader will notify the emergency contact of the ill or injured
participant and apprise them of the
situation.
3. Tour leaders
may not leave ill or injured person in one city and continue
with the trip. A contingency plan must be
in place to plan for this
potential situation.
4. In the event
of a participant illness or injury, the
medical expenses are
the responsibility of the participant
his/herself and will be billed to the
participant at a later date.
Emergency
2: Motor Vehicle Accidents
1. Call law
enforcement (911) and obtain emergency medical care for
any injuries.
2. Call travel
agency to report the accident.
3. Secure the
following information:
a.
Names, addresses and phone numbers of all vehicle occupants
and any injured people.
b.
Location injured people are taken.
c.
Name and address of vehicle owner and driver.
d.
Vehicle license number and description, including make, model,
color and any other pertinent information.
e.
Names, addresses and phone numbers of all witnesses.
f.
Name of the law enforcement agency and case number.
4. If possible,
take pictures of the incident scene.
5. Do NOT make
any statement about the accident except as may be
required by law enforcement officials.
6. For any
serious accident involving personal injury or death, call
Ambassador
Emergency
3: Death of Tour Member
1. Death should be immediately reported to
the Embassy, High
Commission or Consulate.
All deaths
must be registered in the country
where the person died. You will need to provide documents
about you
and the person who has died, including, for
example, the full name,
date of birth and passport number of the
person who has died.
2. You'll need to register the death with the foreign civil
authorities and
obtain a full foreign death registration
before you can apply for
consular death registration
3. If the deceased passed away due to unnatural causes
(murder, car
accident, etc.),
the local police and law officials will probably become
involved in the
matter and cause delays in transporting the remains.
Local officials may
need to issue a coroner’s report (that can take days
or weeks to
complete), and may not release the remains to next of kin
until all
procedures are completed.
4. Most airlines offer cargo service for transporting
remains. Contact a
travel agent or
visit a specific airline’s Web site for quotes.
5. Comprehensive travel insurance, particularly plans that
cover
accidents, injuries
or death can offset expensive fees and traveling
costs to provide
financial assistance in a difficult situation.
Emergency
4: Participant Misconduct
1. All incidents
will be documented.
2. Appropriate
measures will be taken to address the misconduct.
Emergency
5: Student or Faculty Member is the Victim of a Crime: Theft, Assault, Rape,
Harassment, etc.
1. For
international trips, the tour leader should first contact the nearest
Embassy or Consulate for advice and
assistance.
2. Tour leader
will contact local police officials to report the crime.
3. The tour
leader will assist in obtaining necessary medical treatment or
other assistance for the participant.
4. Tour leader
will contact the participant’s emergency contact as
authorized by the individual(s).
Emergency
6: Student or Faculty Member is Accused of a Crime: Theft, Assault, Rape,
Harassment, etc.
1. In the event
of a tour member being accused of a crime,
he/she will be subject to the laws of the
state or host country. The
individual assumes full responsibility for
any consequential action.
2. If consent is
given, the tour leader may contact the participant’s
emergency contact.
3. For
international trips, the tour leader should contact the Embassy or
Consulate.
Emergency
7: An In-Country Situation that Causes Serious Concern
(such
as a political upheaval or natural disaster)
1. The travel
agency will contact tour leader for a preliminary
assessment or the tour leader will contact
the The Travel Agency for
advice on a developing situation.
2. The Travel
agency will contact the Ambassador to receive latest public
announcements or travel warnings.
3. Tour leader
will determine whether to implement an emergency
evacuation plan.
4. The tour
leader will take necessary action based on advice from Travel
Agency. Tour Leader will discuss possible
choices with Management.
Decisions could involve evacuation, move to
embassy compound,
remaining on-site and maintaining a low profile,
or quarantine on-site.
5. Based on
decisions taken, The Travel Agency, in cooperation with tour
leader and Ambassador, will disseminate
information to appropriate
parties. This may involve phone calls to
parents/family, contact with
media, etc.
Emergency
8: Disease Outbreak or Epidemic
1. Should there
be a disease outbreak it is important that the tour leader
have accurate health information. The tour
leader needs to confirm
any international health reports with official
sources. These source
include:
a.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/travel
b.
The World Health Organization http://www.who.int
c.
Pan – Flu www.pandemicflu.gov
2. In the event
of a disease outbreak the tour leader should contact the
travel agency for instructions about how to
proceed.
3. If there would
be a pandemic incident and governments decide to
enact quarantine or close the borders. The
tour leader and participants
will take instruction from health officials
in the country in which they are
traveling.
This could mean delays in getting home.
4. It is
recommended that all persons traveling abroad be up to date with
their immunizations. This would include an
annual seasonal flu shot.
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