Rescuers put the injured tourist on a
stretcher during the first drill of China's first mountain rescue
team on Saturday, January 5, 2008. [Photo: Beijing Morning
Post]
Rescuers send the injured tourist down the
hill via a strop during a drill of China's first mountain rescue
team on Saturday, January 5, 2008. [Photo: Beijing Morning
Post]
A climber stumbled off the slope and broke his leg near the top
of Xiangshan Hill (Fragrant Hill) in Beijing's northwestern
suburbs...Upon receiving SOS messages from the trapped tourist's
cell phone, three rescue teams set off from different areas in the
city and successfully brought him to safety in three hours.
Don't worry, the above case is not real. That's what happened in
the first drill of the Mountain Rescue Team under the Promotion
Center for Emergency Assistance (PCEA) of the Ministry of Civil
Affairs.
The Beijing Morning Post reported that the Mountain
Rescue Team, the first outdoor emergency assistance organization in
China, would be formally set up this March to provide aid to
outdoor sports lovers who might find themselves in trouble.
The rescue team has 25 crew members. During the drill, they were
divided into three groups and approached the "injured climber" from
three different locations. Each team had its own responsibilities.
The first team was in charge of "search and locate"; the second
team took care of the stretcher and medical aid; and the third team
acted as back-ups to take over jobs of exhausted crew members in
the first two teams.
The total rescue process took about three and half hours and the
"injured tourist" was taken down the hill on a stretcher, his
broken leg bound with rescuers' alpenstocks.
Wang Xin, captain of the rescue team, said professional rescue
crews not only could provide professional physical aid but also
confidence and comfort to the trapped tourists, which are also
vital to the survival of the victims.
As outdoor sports are gaining momentum in the country, the
Ministry of Civil Affairs set up the rescue team in light of the
rising number of cases of tourist or explorer injuries or even
deaths. The rescue team is currently applying for a hotline number
from relevant departments and will publicize the number in
March.
(CRI January 7, 2008)
