7 passengers of Z180 train find their way home and walk 30 kilometers in 7 hours on mountain roads | Anjiazhuang Village | Passengers

At 11:00 am on the 2nd, Sanjiadian Primary School in Mentougou District, Beijing, as a temporary settlement after the rainstorm, welcomed 7 special visitors.

"We walked 30 kilometers on the road from the Anjiazhuang Village Hall resettlement site in Mentougou, carrying backpacks filled with luggage, and finally found this place."

All seven men were passengers of the Z180 train on July 28th. At 10:25 pm on the 29th, they boarded the train from Baotou Station and planned to transfer back to their hometown in Zhangjiajie, Hunan through Beijing. However, their journey home was delayed due to a heavy rain.

"Thank you to the kind-hearted people and leaders. I'm really hungry and haven't had any food yet." When the town officials stationed at the Sanjiadian Primary School resettlement site asked them if they should wash their faces or eat bread first, they coincidentally said, "Let's have some food."

Two days and two nights of waiting

Zhang Shoutong, 59, went to work in Baotou with his fellow villagers a month ago. He recalled: "At 10 o'clock on July 30, it was raining rainstorm outside, and the train suddenly stopped near Anjiazhuang, Mentougou. We waited on the train for a day and a night, and asked the conductor when he could drive. They told us that we had to wait." In about 24 hours on the train, everyone was only given a chopsticks of noodles. As a man, we had to eat first with the elderly and children.

"We sat in the hard seat in the middle of the train and didn't even get a bite of noodles," said the other passengers who came to Sanjiadian Elementary School with Zhang Shou.

Around 10:00 on July 31st, Zhang Shoutong's phone lost signal. Subsequently, due to the collapse of the railway ahead, the train tilted and the conductor demanded that all passengers disembark. Prior to this, the deputy station manager of Anjiazhuang Railway Station, along with the engineering and maintenance personnel, made several trips and chose to transfer passengers to Anjiazhuang Village. There is no hardened road from the station to the village, so passengers can only use the railway line when transferring. A total of 913 passengers followed the train crew on a half hour walk and arrived at the resettlement site of the Anjiazhuang Village Hall.

"Nearly 1000 people crowded in the auditorium, only able to ensure a seat to sit or stand, and some passengers went to nearby people's homes to rest." Zhang Shoutong went to nearby residents' homes, but the entire village had no water or electricity, communication was interrupted, and food was still not guaranteed. kind-hearted villagers could only give them some leftover porridge.

On August 1, these passengers from train Z180 received a batch of air dropped materials in Anjiazhuang Village: one ham sausage and one Soy egg. Located in Anjiazhuang Village, which is severely damaged by road traffic and unable to communicate with the outside world, this is the fastest way for passengers and train staff to obtain supplies. In the past three days, many of them who have gone out without food can finally fill their stomachs.

However, the supply of food dropped by air is still tight. Zhang Shoutong discussed with several fellow villagers and left Anjiazhuang Village to go to a relatively convenient resettlement site. They believe that the government will do its best to take care of the affected people in the face of such a large disaster, and there will be more resettlement sites with affordable food. So, the seven of them planned a plan to go home.

Difficult 30 kilometers

On the day before Zhang Shou and his group of seven left Anjiazhuang Village, five people had already tried to walk outside from Anjiazhuang Village in the mountains.

"It was raining heavily yesterday, and those five people were walking outside at 7 o'clock in the morning. We still didn't dare. But seeing that they hadn't returned, we thought the road should be accessible. We set off at 4:20 am this morning."

Before leaving, the villagers of Anjiazhuang showed them a road leading out of the mountain and told them that they could walk along this road to the town.

Anjiazhuang Village is a village located between two mountains, near the right side of the mountain. In front of the village, there is a train track and a road passing through. That road is a necessary route from the mountains to the town of Mentougou, and heavy rainfall has almost completely washed away this only passage.

Town officials register identity information for the affected population.

Zhang Shoutong recalled the 7-hour hiking journey, still feeling a bit scared.

There are countless dangerous sections along the way, with water as deep as our calves and mud all over our shoes. Many road sections have been washed away by rainwater, and there is a high possibility of collapse when we walk up. The seven of us can only walk close to the mountain, gripping the mountain tightly. When we encounter a slightly flat area, we rest and rest. We walked for 7 hours on a 30 kilometer road, and rested more than ten times in the middle. We stopped several cars on the road, but finally encountered a pickup truck at the entrance of Longquan Town in Mentougou. The truck drove us for about 10 minutes, and the driver's phone had a signal to help us report to the police. Received this placement point for Sanjiadian Primary School. Our hearts that have been hanging around have finally settled down

Speaking of which, Zhang Shoutong repeatedly expressed his gratitude and met kind-hearted people and police officers.

A safe way home

At noon on the 2nd, Zhang Shou and his seven passengers had a simple wash at Sanjiadian Elementary School, and also had hot instant noodles, pickled vegetables, and ham sausages.

Town officials distributed food to the disaster stricken population.

"Finally, there's a signal", "I'll report my family's safety as soon as my phone is fully charged", "My wife is working in Zhejiang, and she must be very anxious when she sees the news these days"... All seven men inadvertently showed their true homesickness.

At 12:30, they filled the kettle with boiling water, packed their bags, and prepared to leave Sanjiadian Elementary School to take a taxi to Beijing West Station. They have found that there is a train from Beijing West Station to Zhangjiajie at 15:13 today.

The reporter received information from the railway department that as of the time of writing, K1178 and K396 trains, which were trapped in the Mentougou District of Beijing at the same time as Z180 trains, have been safely transferred to the urban area of Beijing due to the partial clearance of nearby roads.

The Z180 train was more severely affected by nearby roads, and some passengers tried to walk out of Anjiazhuang Village like Zhang Shoutong and others. But most of the passengers on board still live in Anjiazhuang Village under the guidance of the train attendants, waiting for rescue.