Xinjiang dispatches helicopter to successfully rescue six injured hikers
The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Emergency Office reported on the 26th that on September 25, Xinjiang successfully rescued six injured hikers who were trapped while crossing the Wolf Tower C Route, bringing them to safety.
At around 15:00 on September 25, the Regional Emergency Office received a phone call from members of the Mountain Rescue Team, stating that six hikers from Dalian, Liaoning Province, had begun crossing the Wolf Tower C Route four days prior (a hiking trail from Hutubi County to Baluntai in Hejing County, which takes 7–8 days to complete on foot and is completely uninhabited). One of them had been experiencing abdominal pain since noon on September 23 and was unable to walk, suspected to be suffering from gastric bleeding, which was an urgent situation. Additionally, due to the delay in their journey, the food they had brought could only last the six of them for another two days.
After receiving the report, the Regional Emergency Office considered that if a ground rescue team were dispatched, it would take two days at the fastest to locate the trapped individuals and three to four days to evacuate them from the trapped location. This would put the injured person and the other five at risk of losing their lives. The Regional Party Committee and Government attached great importance to the matter, and Chairman Nur Bekri immediately instructed to request the Xinjiang Military Region to deploy a helicopter and make every effort to rescue the six trapped individuals.
Leaders of the Xinjiang Military Region instructed the Army Aviation unit to prepare for the rescue operation immediately. At 18:18, staff from the Regional Emergency Office took a helicopter to begin the search and rescue mission and soon located the trapped individuals. Due to limited landing conditions at the trapped site, the helicopter had to land at an altitude of 3,100 meters, and four rescuers trekked down the mountain toward the trapped individuals. About 700 meters from the trapped individuals and with a slope of nearly 70 degrees, there were no existing paths, making the descent extremely difficult. It took the rescuers over half an hour to reach the trapped individuals. The sick individual was initially diagnosed with possible gastric bleeding, could neither be carried nor walk normally, and due to the steep terrain and significant elevation changes, the rescuers had to carefully carry the patient and inch their way up the mountain.
At this point, Yili Simayi, head of the Regional Emergency Office leading the team, decided to send someone back to notify the helicopter crew to try to hover the helicopter at a flatter area at an altitude of 2,700 meters, while the others helped the sick individual walk to the designated spot to wait for the helicopter rescue.
Zhao Bin, leader of the Army Aviation unit piloting the rescue helicopter, was even more anxious. With nightfall approaching, failure to return the helicopter in time would have dire consequences navigating through the high mountain valleys at night. But the patient was in critical condition and would be at risk of death without timely treatment. Finally, they made a bold decision to make every effort to enter the valley. The helicopter took off again, slowly entering the canyon, with its rotors almost brushing against the rock walls on both sides. The powerful airflow battered the helicopter, causing it to shake continuously. In the end, the helicopter landed meter by meter on a small flat area not far from the patient. At 20:25, the rescuers lifted the patient onto the helicopter, distributed food and water to the rescued individuals, and the helicopter returned.
At 21:06, the helicopter landed safely. The patient was then taken to the Emergency Department of the Military Region General Hospital, where they were initially diagnosed with acute gastric bleeding and underwent surgery. After more than three hours of tense surgery, the patient is currently out of life-threatening danger, and the other rescued individuals are recovering.