On April 18th, Ma Zhancheng from Sanyizhai Township, Lankao County, Henan, after seeing a TV program mentioning that treasures were hidden in the Qilian Mountains of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, ventured into the mountains alone in search of treasure. Due to the steep cliffs, he slipped and became trapped between the cliff faces.
At 13:50 that afternoon, the Qilian County Public Security Fire Brigade of Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, received an alert from the all-duty command center reporting that someone was trapped in the Qilian Mountains. The Qilian County fire brigade swiftly deployed 11 officers and soldiers. Based on the trapped individual’s description of the surrounding location, after more than an hour of searching, they located the trapped person. At the time, weather conditions were extremely harsh, with winds gusting up to level 7 and accompanied by a sandstorm. The trapped person was situated midway up a cliff over 300 meters high, with the cliff face being extremely steep, almost a vertical 90-degree angle, making frontal rescue impossible. After analyzing the situation, the on-site commander immediately ordered a ground ascent from the gentler, back side of the mountain to carry out the rescue. Eight rescue team members braved wind and sand and hiked over 10 kilometers to reach the mountaintop at an altitude of about 4,000 meters. They then found a relatively solid anchoring point at the top, secured ropes, and set up two rescuers per anchor point, laying out a 100-meter rope lifeline to reach a point about 20 meters above the trapped person on the cliff edge. After more than four hours of rescue efforts, the trapped individual was successfully saved.
Officials from the Qinghai Fire Corps warned that those engaging in outdoor exploration or activities with certain risks must conduct prior surveys of terrain and landscape, prepare adequate protective measures, avoid traveling alone as much as possible, and carry emergency items such as lifelines to prevent accidental incidents.