On the evening of April 3, a group of 10 students from Lanzhou University of Finance and Economicswere on atrip to the Yellow River Stone Forest Geological Park, a national 4A-level tourist attraction, for exploration and rock climbing when an unfortunate accident occurred.One student was accidentally trapped in a cliff crevice about 150 meters deep near Panlong Cave. After the incident, the students, with the help of park staff, actively initiated a search and managed to locate the injured and trapped student in time. The Jingtai Fire Brigade, alerted by the emergency call, rushed to the scene and, after two hours of a dramatic rescue operation, successfully saved the trapped college student.
College students' holiday exploration and rock climbing adventure
On April 3, the second day of the Qingming holiday and a bright spring day, Xiao Zhang, a freshman at Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, and nine classmates decided to set off early by bicycle from Lanzhou to the Yellow River Stone Forest, a national 4A-level tourist site located in Jingtai County, Baiyin City, for an outing.
After a long journey, they finally arrived at their destination around 17:00 that day. The students checked into a local farmhouse for a brief rest, had dinner, and then headed to Panlong Cave in the scenic area. The area, with its steep cliffs and precipices, attracts many adventurous tourists. After reading the introduction at the cave entrance, the 10 students, driven by curiosity and the desire to challenge themselves, decided to hold an adventure climbing competition, agreeing to regroup at the campsite by 21:30.Little did they know that danger was approaching.
Trapped in the valley, students call for help
At 21:30, nine students arrived at the campsite as planned, excitedly sharing their adventure climbing experiences.By 22:00, they noticed that Xiao Zhang had not yet returned and couldn’t be reached by phone. Their initial joy and excitement turned into anxious waiting.
"Quick, go to Panlong Cave and look for Xiao Zhang."
Soon, the students, armed with flashlights, arrived at the entrance of Panlong Cave where the earlier adventure climbing competition had taken place.To ensure safety, they split into pairs to search, while one student stayed behind at the campsite.
"Xiao Zhang——"
The calls for their missing classmate echoed through Panlong Cave.
"I'm here——help me——"
At 22:31, a faint cry for help came from a crevice in the most treacherous cliff area of Panlong Cave.
The searching students quickly gathered, but despite hearing the faint cries, they could not see Xiao Zhang. The sight left them stunned.
"Call 119 for help, quick!"
Two-hour life-and-death rescue mission
At 23:04, the Jingtai Fire Brigade, having received the emergency call, immediately dispatched 12 firefighters and two rescue vehicles to the scene. Officials from the Jingtai County government also arrived promptly to assist in the rescue.
At 00:40 on April 4, after arriving at the accident site, the commanding officer conducted an immediate investigation and found that the valley was about 150 meters deep.
By then, the temperature had dropped to around 0°C. To ensure the trapped student had enough energy, firefighters used ropes to lower water and food down from the top of the valley to help replenish his strength.
Subsequently, the commander ordered firefighters to put on personal protective gear and rescue equipment and head toward the trapped individual’s location. Thanks to their solid skills, the rescue team navigated through narrow paths and caves, and reached the trapped person’s location within 20 minutes.
As the trapped individual was unable to move, rescuers secured him onto a stretcher. While using ropes to hoist the stretcher from the top of the valley, several rescuers carefully carried the stretcher step-by-step up the steep cliff face. After 50 minutes, the individual was successfully lifted out while strapped to the secured stretcher and promptly taken to the hospital for treatment.
On April 5, reporters learned from the Jingtai County People's Hospital that the injured student was in stable condition and undergoing rehabilitation treatment.