Mass casualty exercise being held near Wrightsville Beach Thursday night

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — A mass casualty exercise is planned for Thursday night in the waters near Wrightsville Beach.

The practice is planned to last from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. on March 30th.

U.S. Coast Guard members will be enforcing a Safety Zone in Masonboro Channel and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) in the vicinity of Masonboro Island. No vessels will be allowed to transit this area until the exercise is completed.

Wrightsville Beach Public Safety personnel will participate in this multi-agency mass casualty exercise involving multiple surface vessels and people in the waterways.

Local residents can expect an increase in public safety vehicles on the island and low-flying helicopters. This joint nighttime training exercise includes personnel from Fire, Law Enforcement, and the US Coast Guard.

A Coast Guard patrol will be present and can be reached on VHF-FM channel 16 (156.8 MHz).