Rescue Scene
Yesterday morning, over 50 hiking enthusiasts from Weifang’s Changyi gathered for a group trip to climb Laoshan Mountain in Qingdao. Among them, Mr. Zhang was walking along an unofficial trail near Beitianmen when he slipped and fell, fracturing his right fibula and leaving him immobile. He had no choice but to call for help. The Qingdao Life Saving Association and the Qingdao Red Cross Blue Sky Rescue Team deployed nearly 30 personnel in multiple batches to carry out the rescue mission. By 4:40 PM yesterday, the injured Mr. Zhang was carried down the mountain. Upon being rescued, he repeatedly gave a thumbs-up to express his gratitude to the rescuers.
Weifang Hiker Suffers Fracture
“We’re near Beitianmen on Laoshan Mountain— one of our team members has suffered a fracture from a fall,” reported a call received at 10:45 AM yesterday by both the Qingdao Red Cross Blue Sky Rescue Team and the Qingdao Life Saving Association. “The man is on an unofficial trail with no cableway nearby, so he can only be carried down manually.” Liu Yong from the Qingdao Life Saving Association explained that shortly after receiving the distress call, they quickly organized eight members for the rescue mission, while the Blue Sky Rescue Team mobilized over 20 rescuers.
At 12:20 PM, the eight members of the Life Saving Association arrived first at the assembly point at Liucuihe Bridge. After a brief rest, they set off toward the injured hiker’s location carrying stretchers, splints, and first aid supplies. Around 1:00 PM, 12 members of the Qingdao Red Cross Blue Sky Rescue Team reached the assembly area, with 10 of them bringing first aid kits and stretchers up the mountain, while the others stayed behind to manage communication and positioning, keeping track of the team’s movements and offering terrain-based guidance using map data.
Nearly 3 Hours to Bring Him Down
Around 2:00 PM yesterday, rescuers from the Life Saving Association met up with the hiking group where the injured man was located. The man was leaning sideways against a tree, his pant legs rolled up to reveal a prominent swelling on his leg. “It looked like a serious injury— he might have been in too much pain, as there were beads of sweat on his face,” the rescuers said. Together, they carefully lifted the injured man onto a stretcher, secured him, and began the descent. Rescuers and around six or seven local hikers from Weifang took turns carrying the man down the mountain. About half an hour later, they were joined by the arriving Blue Sky Rescue Team members, who redressed the man’s leg wound, switched him to a folding stretcher, and continued the relay descent.
“A single stretcher can be carried by up to six people, but the mountain paths are narrow and difficult to navigate. Some areas are particularly steep, making descent treacherous and increasing the risk of slipping— all of which added significant challenges to the rescue,” explained Zhen Renxiang from the Blue Sky Rescue Team. Fortunately, there were enough rescuers to take turns carrying the stretcher without any breaks.
At 4:40 PM yesterday, the injured man was finally brought down to the assembly point at Liucuihe Bridge. Throughout the evacuation, he occasionally winced in pain, but still managed to smile and repeatedly gave a thumbs-up to thank the rescuers.
The Injured Man Is a ‘Veteran Hiker’
“We’re truly grateful to the members of the Qingdao Life Saving Association and the Blue Sky Rescue Team. Without them, we really don’t know if we could have made it down. We had planned this trip for a long time and prepared thoroughly— we arrived at the foot of Laoshan Mountain just after 7:00 AM, and there were over 50 of us in total,” said Mr. Shao, a friend of the injured hiker. He explained that the victim was a “veteran hiker” who often took unofficial trails and had climbed Laoshan several times before. However, no one expected that while descending a slope, he would slip and fall, fracturing his right fibula. “After he got injured, the other team members couldn’t help much. So we had one of the more experienced leaders guide the other 40+ hikers down the mountain, leaving a few behind to care for him,” Mr. Shao said. While waiting, a local hiker informed them of the contact information for the Qingdao Life Saving Association and Blue Sky Rescue Team. Mr. Shao immediately called for help.