Region gets its first pro rescue service

A central rescue command center was established on Monday in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, with eight satellite stations, giving the region its first professional emergency rescue service.

Two stations are located in Lhasa, with one each in the cities of Nagchu, Nyingchi, Lhokha, Chamdo and Shigatse and Ngari prefecture.

Their resources include 112 vehicles, four speedboats, seven helicopters, two fixed-wing aircraft and more than 200 workers.

According to the center, the facility, constructed with an investment of more than 45 million yuan ($6.8 million), is an upgrade of the former Tibet Red Cross Society 999 Emergency Rescue Center, which was a voluntary center established in 2017 to carry out aviation rescue work. The new center also cooperates with overseas rescue institutions.

"We will try to guide the work to a higher level and supervise staff to perform legally in disaster relief, medical aid and emergency rescue," said Dawa Norbu, an official in the region's emergency management department.

Ma Jun, director of the new Tibet Emergency Rescue Center, said the region is an attractive place for outdoor sports, such as climbing and hiking, and it has seen increasing numbers of tourists and climbers stranded in remote areas.

Incidents of tourists stranded in the mountains or isolated areas have been reported frequently in the region in recent years, generating the necessity and urgency of emergency rescue.

"Whenever people have been stranded after climbing without proper registration, police officers and firefighters have been called to perform all sorts of rescue relief work," Ma said.

"With the establishment of the center, we will undertake various emergency duties from now on and be scientific when carrying out rescues."

Tibet has been a popular destination for outdoor sports enthusiasts for decades because of its rich, exotic tourism resources. In the past few years, members of the center have been conducting rescue relief work in some of the region's snow-capped mountains.

The center will also work with the police department's traffic bureau to improve the medical rescue rate of victims of traffic accidents. Anyone who needs help can contact emergency rescue by calling 0891-6404495. Four staff are on duty 24 hours to command and dispatch rescue workers.

"We have had many difficulties establishing a professional emergency operator, and we have been preparing for six years," Ma said.

"Our center will conduct emergency medical rescue training for police, and it will help police officers improve their capability for earlier treatment of traffic accident victims."