Chinese peacekeepers rescue Nepalese soldiers

"The officers and men of the Chinese Engineer Battalion scientifically and timely saved lives of six soldiers from a friendly peacekeeping force, which is exemplary in accident management of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)!" The medical department of the UNIFIL wrote a letter of thanks to the 10th Chinese Peacekeeping Engineer Battalion to Lebanon which was on the mission of erecting boundary markers along the border between Lebanon and Israel.

26 officers and men of the Construction Company under the Chinese Engineer Battalion were on a steep winding mountain road in formation at 09:00 of October 8, 2012. When they were passing a downward slope, the left front wheel of the armoured vehicle of the Nepalese Peacekeeping Battalion in charge of protection at the tail of the formation fell off. The armoured vehicle weighing up to 20-odd tons got out of control and ran into the cliff at one side. After several collisions, it turned on its side and didn't stop before skidding more than 30 meters. Six Nepalese soldiers were trapped inside the vehicle, with two of them severely wounded.

"Hurry to rescue the wounded!" Organized by Li Yongxing, deputy commander of the Chinese Engineer Battalion and commander of the fleet, the rescue officers and men immediately closed and guarded the site, rapidly determined the condition of the vehicle and the position of the wounded, reported the situation to the Nepalese battalion, the Chinese battalion and a nearby Chinese level-II hospital respectively for help. Huang Aiyu, Chinese battalion commander, received the call and reported the accident to the UNIFIL Security Operation Center as early as possible and led an emergency element to rush to the site.

After 10 minutes of efforts, the rescue officers and men helped six Nepalese soldiers break away from the accident vehicle, and cleaned and dressed their wounds to stop the bleeding.

An ambulance arrived at 09:20 and the wounded were transferred to the level-II hospital. Afterwards, the two seriously injured people including one in a dead faint were flied by a rescue helicopter to a level-III hospital 80 kilometers away.

A piece of good news came on the morning of October 9 from the hospitals that all the wounded had been out of danger. During a special visit to the Chinese battalion, the Nepalese battalion expressed its gratitude, "It is you that have saved our soldiers' lives!"