BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Brunei's Fire and Rescue Department has conducted a firefighting and search and rescue exercise on Thursday at a school in the iconic water village in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan.

The exercise involved a classroom fire at a school, which led to some students trapped and falling into the Brunei River, and the evacuation of school residents to a safe place.

The Fire and Rescue department said the exercise was to test firefighters' understanding, communication skills and compliance with standard operating procedures.

In carrying out this firefighting and rescue operation, there were several challenges, such as environmental and river tide conditions and panicked civilians, the department said. ■