Self driving convoy crossing the off-road camel reserve without authorization, resulting in 3 deaths and 1 missing person WeChat | Nature Reserve | Camel
On July 28th, the official WeChat account of the Xinjiang Bazhou online police patrol law enforcement released a police report.
The report states that on the 27th, a self driving convoy lost contact after crossing the off-road camel nature reserve without approval. After search and rescue, three people have lost their vital signs, and one person is missing.
The full text of the notification is as follows:
At around 13:00 on July 27th, the Ruoqiang County Public Security Bureau received a report from the Dunhuang City Public Security Bureau that a self driving convoy departed from Dunhuang City on the 22nd and crossed the national wild camel nature reserve in Ruoqiang without approval. On the 26th, one vehicle and four people were lost.
After search and rescue, a missing vehicle was discovered on the 27th, with 3 people showing no signs of life and 1 person missing. The remaining members of the convoy have safely returned to Dunhuang City.
![Self driving convoy crossing the off-road camel reserve without authorization, resulting in 3 deaths and 1 missing person WeChat | Nature Reserve | Camel](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/e8e5bc30f6e0353e9e2a462961098e5e.jpg)
After receiving the report, the Public Security Bureau of Ruoqiang County immediately established a rescue team with medical and emergency departments, and fully cooperated with relevant departments in Dunhuang City to carry out search and rescue work. At present, search and rescue work is still ongoing.
Ruoqiang County Public Security Bureau
July 28, 2023
According to publicly available information:
There is the largest national level wild camel nature reserve in China within the territory of Ruoqiang - the Altun Mountain Lop Nur Twin Peaks Wild Camel Nature Reserve. This protected area is located in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, with an area of 78000 square kilometers. It is a typical extreme arid desert type protected area and also a model habitat for the world's critically endangered species - wild camels.
![Self driving convoy crossing the off-road camel reserve without authorization, resulting in 3 deaths and 1 missing person WeChat | Nature Reserve | Camel](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/c36be4210a420146f8dfdc83d6cb12a9.jpg)
The region includes the vast Kashun Gobi and Nanhu Gobi in the north of Lop Nur, the eastern section of Kuruktag, the Achik Valley in the east, the Kumtag Desert in the southeast, and the northern foothills of the Altun Mountains in the south. It is bordered to the west by the world-renowned Lop Nur Loulan ancient city.
Data map of the protected area
The protected area belongs to an extremely harsh temperate and warm temperate continental climate: cold in winter, hot in summer, dry with little rain, strong sandstorms, large temperature difference between day and night, low environmental moisture, and an annual evaporation of over 300 times precipitation. It is one of the driest arid desert ecological environments in the world.