Society

Man rescues 74 after landslide using tricycle-turned raft

By Wang Hui (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-08-10 17:19

There is also a bright story in the mudslide disaster at Zhouqu, Gansu province: A man singlehandedly rescued 74 people.

According to Guangzhou Evening News, Wang Mingchang, a tricycle rider, missed the mudslide because he didn't sleep in his house but was at a party with his friends on the night of Aug 7.

After he got back home, he saw many houses, including his own two-floor house, were flattened to the ground by the mud, and many people cried for help.

Without hesitation, he removed three wheels from his tricycle, and made a raft by adding wood blocks to the vehicle. He rode the raft down the river and rescued the trapped people. The raft was so small he only can get one or two at a time. One by one, he managed to rescue 74 people.

The rain-triggered mudslides that swept Zhouqu in Gannan of Gansu on Sunday morning were considered the country's worst in six decades.

Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu has ordered rescuers to step up work before the end of the 72-hour "golden window" for survivors trapped in the ruins.