Choppers deployed for rescues
- Source: Global Times
- [08:53 April 06 2011]
- Comments
A police helicopter airlifts hikers off of a mountain in Mentougou district Tuesday. Photo: Courtesy of the Beijing PSB
By Yan Shuang and Wei Na
Three missions to rescue hikers were carried out during the Qingming holiday, two of which involved helicopters. It was the first time police used the choppers - purchased for use during the Beijing 2008 Olympics - for rescue work.
Three helicopters and a team of 290 people went on a 21-hour rescue of 17 hikers stranded on a mountain in Mentougou district Monday.
The 17 members of the "923hiker" team, all from Huilongguan, Changping district, are now safe.
Helicopters spotted the 17 hikers at 9 am Tuesday, airlifting out two who were suffering from exhaustion.
The other hikers were found by a rescue team of personnel from the municipal police, fire-fighting and sports bureaus, as well as local residents, Tuesday afternoon at Ling Mountain.
"We lost our way because the snow and fallen leaves were so deep on the mountain that they covered the paths," said a team member nicknamed Zuo Lengchan. Several members were familiar with the area, having been to the mountain before, Zuo said.
"We tried to find the right way to go before the rescue team came, but still failed to take the right path and ended up at a 500-meter cliff," Zuo told the Global Times.
The hikers went into the mountains at 10 am on Monday and called 110 for help after they lost their way, he said.
All the hikers were off the mountain by 1:50 pm Tuesday, according to a press release by the municipal Public Security Bureau (PSB) Tuesday.
According to hiking team member Ou Bolai, only a few of the hikers had any professional training.
Helicopters were also deployed to rescue 39 climbers - students and a teacher from the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) - on Mao'er Mountain, in Fangshan district, on Sunday, according to a press release from the municipal PSB.
