Health professionals in Beijing are being trained to deal with the aftermath of terrorist attacks, the municipal health bureau said yesterday.

Some 130,000 medics are taking part in the scheme to ready them for possible incidents during the Olympics and Paralympics, the bureau said on its website.

The training began on Monday and will run for a month.

"It is very important that we are able to maintain social stability," Jin Dapeng, the bureau's Party secretary, was quoted on the website as saying last week at the launch of the initiative.

"It is our mission to react to any terrorist attack during the Games to ensure public security.

"Therefore, we must carry out the training with earnestness and efficiency to raise awareness of possible threats and boost out capability to deal with emergencies", he said.

Medics will be taught about nuclear, biological and chemical attacks, response and rescue procedures, and treatment, the bureau said.

Their instructors are all experts from the Academy of Military Medical Science.

About 4,000 trainees from the emergency services are being trained in response and rescue work, while medics, including those at the 22 hospitals that will serve athletes and officials, are being given training on how to treat the victims of attack.

Jin said health organizations should also be on high alert to the possibility of terrorist groups attempting to steal potentially deadly chemicals, drugs or other toxic materials.

The central government said last month that more than 10,000 security personnel will be deployed in Beijing during the Olympics.

Interpol has also warned of the threat of possible attacks by groups such as al-Qaeda during the Games.