China International Rescue team passes UN inspection

China's International Rescue Team recently wrapped up a 37-hour continuous quake rescue drill in Beijing. It's part of a UN test to determine whether the team qualifies as a heavy international rescue team that can carry out major disaster relief missions around the world. China passed the assessment in what UN inspectors called a "truly outstanding" performance.

A victim is finally pulled out of the debris. This is a drill that simulates a situation where a strong earthquake buries survivors in a supermarket.

Normally these buildings are constructed with thick and heavy concrete slabs that can block the entrances, making rescue work increasingly difficult, especially after a quake.

12 hours ago, this "victim" was actually in the dressing room. He's part of China's rescue team. His "injury" is a broken arm he received as the building fell, burying him and other survivors. The drill was created to mimic real-life situations as closely as possible, down to the last detail.

With his "dressing" ready, the "victim" walks into the artificial debris from an underground tunnel, waiting for the rescuers to find him and pull him out from the other side… an operation that could take hours or even days in the field.

To locate the victim buried under the debris, the team has also trained professional search dogs. They come in handy when it comes to going through the dangerous and complicated structures that fell in the quake.

But to dig through the rubble, rescuers have to deploy all kinds of heavy equipment, including cranes and digging machines.

Whether rescues are able to operate these machines will determine whether the United Nations qualifies the team as a heavy rescue team that is capable of carrying out disaster relief missions across the world. Every five years, the UN carries out a reclassification of each team to see if the teams are still able to do the job effectively.

Five years ago, the Chinese rescue team was the second in Asia after Singapore, and the twelfth in the world, to pass the UN assessment as the world-class heavy international rescue team. Over the years, this team has fought on the frontlines of many disaster relief missions around the world, such as the 2008 China's Wenchuan Earthquake, the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, and the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Rescuing the man buried under the debris goes until midnight, with the rescuers breaking through two thick concrete walls in the structure to dig him out.

The United Nations chief inspector says China passed the test with an "outstanding" performance, performing well beyond the standards set by the UN in some areas.

Armed with experience and training, the Chinese rescue team is ready to help in times of crisis and spread humanitarian relief around the world.