The firefighter in question responded by arranging a human wall to escort children down the cliff, attracting attention from the firefighter | child | in question

Recently, a video of a firefighter using his body to build a human wall next to a cliff and escorting children down the mountain has attracted attention.

The Beijing Youth Daily reporter learned from the Beijing Municipal Fire Rescue Brigade that all 25 firefighters escorting children in the video are from the Beijing Municipal Fire Rescue Brigade Special Service Detachment.

On August 6th, at the rescue site in Xiehejian Village, Miaofengshan Town, Mentougou District, Yue Xin, the deputy leader of the Special Service Detachment, told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter about the process of leading a team to escort a trapped child down the mountain on August 2nd,

The entire escort process took nearly 4 hours. After putting the children on the shuttle bus, all the team members were exhausted, but when they heard the children say "thank you" in their childish voices, everyone smiled.

Severe collapse along mountain roads, firefighters build fences with their bodies

In this video that has been widely circulated online, a reporter from Beiqing Daily saw that the road built along the mountain had serious landslides, leaving only about half a lane wide for traffic. Dozens of firefighters lined up neatly with their backs facing the cliff, using their bodies to build fences and escorting multiple children through the collapsed road. The Beijing Youth Daily reporter noticed that some smaller children were carried by firefighters through dangerous roads through relay transmission.

After watching the video, netizens liked the firefighters and left messages to pay tribute to them, calling them "true heroes" and "the cutest people".

According to Yue Xin's recollection, the escort and transportation took place on August 2nd. "We received news on the evening of July 31st that the Z180 train was trapped near Anjiazhuang." In order to find the passengers as soon as possible, after research, they decided to send two assault teams, divided into two routes, along the railway and National Highway 109, into the mountains.

At noon on August 1st, both teams set off simultaneously. When Yue Xin's team was walking along National Highway 109, they found that many places along the way had collapsed, fallen rocks, and even some areas had become "dead ends" due to flash floods. They could only explore a new path from the nearby mountains. "We can only randomly change the path we are traveling on midway," said Yue Xin. At around 7 pm, after walking for 8 hours, Yue Xin and her group finally arrived at Anjiazhuang Village. The other team that attacked along the railway also arrived at Anjiazhuang Village almost at the same time.

How to take over 900 passengers down the mountain has become a headache for them

"When we entered the village, a large group of people gathered around us. Their eyes were shining with light at the time," said Yue Xin. Water and electricity were cut off in the village due to a flash flood, and communication was completely cut off. A villager noticed a train parked nearby and took the initiative to bring these stranded passengers back to the village, allowing them to rest in their own homes and distributing their few meals to the passengers.

How to take these over 900 passengers down the mountain has become a headache for Yue Xin and her team. "There are children and elderly people here, and we have transmitted the situation back via satellite phone. Let's quickly have a meeting to study the transfer plan.". One night, Yue Xin and her team decided on three plans and ultimately chose the one with the lowest risk - taking National Highway 109 to escort the 38 children of the research group down the mountain first.

In order to enable the children of the study group to board the transfer bus as soon as possible after descending the mountain, and to ensure the smooth road down the mountain, a group of team members carried their children and teachers' luggage down the mountain at around 2am.

At 1:30 pm, Yue Xin and 24 other firefighters, along with 38 children and 7 teachers, began walking down the mountain.

The return journey, although explored by firefighters, still carries certain risks. Firefighter Wang Mengkai told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that he almost always walked at the forefront from beginning to end, and wherever he walked with his child, he walked first to confirm that there was no problem. On this journey, the child that left the deepest impression on Wang Mengkai was a 9-year-old girl walking beside him. "I was originally worried that she would be afraid, but this little girl, no matter how difficult the road ahead was, never said she was afraid. She was almost always by my side, the first among the children to walk by."

In order to protect the safety of children, a "safe passage" was built by setting up a pedestrian wall

Yue Xin told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that in order to prevent children from feeling scared on the way, they communicated with the teacher before departure about which areas along the way would be difficult to walk. When they were about to pass through difficult walking sections, they would also remind the teacher to comfort the children first.

"The location shown in the video is one of the 13 difficult to walk sections we explored earlier," said Wang Mengkai. The road used to be a two lane winding mountain road, but now it has collapsed to only half the width of a lane, and in some places it is even narrower. Under the cliff lies the turbulent river water. In order to protect the safety of the children, they set up a "safe passage" for them by arranging a pedestrian wall.

Yue Xin told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter that due to concerns that the children might fall and be frightened when passing due to the reserved distance being too narrow, the firefighters left as much space as possible for the children to walk. "The team members' feet are very close to the edge of the cliff," Yue Xin said. When he was directing from the side, his heart was hanging, afraid that the team members might accidentally fall off the cliff.

Firefighter Liu Yichen said that they had already explored this section of the road when they went up the mountain. "This road is not only narrow, but in some places the road surface looks good, but the soil underneath is already empty.".

Some firefighters almost always carry their children forward from start to finish

When escorting children down the mountain, firefighters are always in a highly tense state of mind. In addition to carrying and holding younger children, they also need to constantly monitor their emotions. "When we see a child whose emotions are not right or showing a little bit of fatigue, our firefighters quickly go up and comfort them, and then carry them for a while." Yue Xin told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, and even some firefighters almost always carry the child forward from start to finish.

At 5 pm, after walking for 4 hours, they finally arrived at the assembly point. When the children boarded the transfer bus, the firefighters were so tired that they lay on the ground to rest. "We were 25 people, and almost everyone's feet were blistered with blood. The calf hurt so much that it felt like it wasn't their own leg anymore." Liu Yichen told the Beijing Youth Daily reporter, but when he heard the children say "thank you brother" and "thank you uncle" to him, all the fatigue disappeared in an instant. "Children won't lie, and at that time, I was truly proud and proud of being a firefighter."

dialogue

"Throughout the entire escort process, the children were particularly strong."

Beijing Youth Daily: Why choose to take the children down the mountain on National Highway 109?

Yue Xin: We formulated three plans at that time. The first plan was for each firefighter to bring 10 people; The second set is for everyone to gather and walk; The third set is to separate children, the elderly, and young adults. After deciding to transfer the children first, we studied the route and chose to detour along National Highway 109 because it is relatively "friendly" for the children. Although there are ditches, cliffs, and a lot of falling rocks on the road, there is less water on this road and there are not many places to cross the river. We can pass smoothly by holding our children. And another road that goes out of the mountain along the railway track needs to cross puddles, with the deepest water accumulation even reaching the waist of firefighters. It's too dangerous to walk with children.

Beijing Youth Daily: How do you take care of children during the evacuation process?

Yue Xin: During our evacuation journey, there were many dangerous situations such as mud, falling rocks, roadbed collapse, and rapids along the way. I remember not long after we set off, in a place not far from Anjiazhuang, the iron mesh of the nearby mountain was crushed by falling rocks. Due to being in the village all along and not seeing the surrounding scenery, many children showed some fear. In addition, the water flow on the side was also very fast at that time, and some children's legs began to tremble. At such times, we would go over and say to the children, "I haven't had a good meal these past few days, and my legs are trembling from hunger. Uncle, hold you." Then we would carry the children through this difficult road.

In fact, throughout the journey, my team and I need to constantly observe the child's condition and provide necessary assistance such as support and lifting. For some children who are tired from walking or have difficulty moving due to worn feet, we also use chat and communication methods to relieve them, asking them whether they are tired, if their feet hurt, and if Uncle is carrying you, in order to stabilize their emotions.

Liu Yichen: On the way, we will actively communicate with the children, make jokes, try to divert their attention, and not make them feel scared. In order to ensure the safety of children, when passing through some dangerous road sections, we will have firefighters standing in a row at the beginning, end, and on both sides of the team, holding probes to surround them in the middle, leaving a safe area for the children.

Beijing Youth Daily: What impressed you during the escort process?

Wang Mengkai: Throughout the entire escort process, the children were very strong and hardly cried. Along the way, they would occasionally chat with us, asking "Uncle, when will you arrive?" "Are you tired?". The little girl walking beside me only reached my waist height, but she has always been calm, which surprised me. Some children are wearing sandals and have worn their feet while walking on mountain roads. My teammates have been holding them in their arms, and there are specialized medical staff at the end of the team to treat the wounds. Every time we pick up the child on a difficult road, they will politely thank us.

Beijing Youth Daily: How did you feel after your video of protecting children from cliffs became popular?

Liu Yichen: This is just a microcosm of the danger we faced during the rescue process, and it is our responsibility and responsibility.

Wang Mengkai: The praise from netizens is also a recognition of our work. Everyone is very pleased to be able to safely rescue the children.