Two drivers competing in an 11-day cross-country race were
rescued yesterday after being lost for nearly 50 hours in Lop Nur,
northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
One hitch-hiked 50 kilometers before catching a ride to a town
where he found help yesterday. Meanwhile, a rescue team dispatched
earlier came across the other driver in Lop Nur.
Pu Yongsheng, the driver, and Zhao Lixue, the guide, strayed off
course shortly after they set out to cross Lop Nur on Tuesday
afternoon.
Pu and Zhao were confirmed lost on Wednesday night, and a mass
search began.
The search proved difficult due to the desert's harsh
conditions.
At around 4 PM yesterday, the pair's vehicle was discovered
buried in the sand about 50 kilometers from the group's starting
point and both drivers were found to be healthy and safe, according
to Fang Zheng, chief organizer of the cross-country event.
"Their vehicle broke down because of a battery problem,
meanwhile the transmitter-receiver in the vehicle also went wrong,"
Fang told China Daily.
Pu and Zhao are both from a cross-country automobile club in
Shanghai. Pu, who is in charge of the club, is also a lawyer,
according to the Shanghai Transportation Radio.
The pair had been carrying enough food and water for two days
with them, said Fang.
Because he is younger than Pu, Zhao, the guide, abandoned the
vehicle and walked in the harsh windy weather for 50 kilometers
before he finally hitch-hiked to the local government headquarters
of Lop Nur town 60 kilometers away to seek help, reported the
Shanghai Oriental Television.
At the same time, a rescue team from Ruoqiang County, which Lop
Nur belongs to, found the buried vehicle and Pu 50 kilometers from
their starting place.
The pair would join the automobile club at the group's next
stop, Zhao, the guide, was quoted by Shanghai Oriental TV as
saying.
Fifty-eight vehicles from domestic clubs in Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, Shanghai, Shandong and Henan provinces, took part in the
4,000-kilometer-long competition, which started in Urumqi, capital
of Xinjiang last Saturday.
Five competitors have already quit the event due to the road and
weather conditions, said Fang. The event will end at Akesu on
Tuesday.
Lop Nur is known for its harsh conditions. It recently aroused
people's attention as experts said a dry corpse discovered in Lop
Nur is likely to be Peng Jiamu (1925-1980), the scientist who was
lost in Lop Nur in June 1980 during a scientific exploration. DNA
tests are under way to confirm the speculation.
(China Daily May 5, 2006)
