Stranded travelers touched by selfless villagers amid Beijing's heavy rain

(ECNS) -- The K396 train bound from Inner Mongolia to Beijing was forced to stop on Sunday at Luopoling Railway Station in Mentougou District, hit by heavy rain-triggered flooding.

The next afternoon, due to persistent heavy rain, signal communication was disrupted and embankment erosion worsened. Railway authorities decided to evacuate the passengers to Luopoling Community for shelter.

Villagers, most of whom elderly, shared whatever food they had at home with the stranded passengers.

Meng Ermei, secretary of the Community Party Branch of the village, said that the K396 train had nearly 1000 passengers, while Luopoling Community had only a little over 600 residents, of which the regular population may be less than 400.

With local water supply halted, some residents traveled far to fetch water and cook porridge for the passengers. Private cars also became makeshift shelters.

"In fact, many residents' homes had run out of food and water at that time, but they went to pick cucumbers and eggplants, and gave us pickled vegetables to eat," a passenger said.

"A senior couple took in nine of us, providing us with food and shelter, and they were also going to help more people," another said.

The stranded passengers recalled their time at the village, where local residents collected rainwater and used gas to cook rice. Some even offered their own mattresses, and 18 households cleared space to accommodate over 300 children.

A passenger surnamed Zhao said, "many people were taking care of the children on the train. They served several rounds of meals and even provided cookies and candy for the kids."

Liu Chunmei from Ordos, Inner Mongolia, recalled, "The residents brought us whatever they had, and in the end, when they had nothing left, even when the armed police airdropped food supplies, they didn't go to collect them. They left them all for us."

On Tuesday afternoon, several rescue personnel from the Beijing Fire and Rescue Corps located the train along the railway tracks. They established communication with the outside world through satellite phones.

As of Tuesday morning, the last group of stranded passengers have safely arrived at Beijing Fengtai Station by transfer passenger trains.