The quake that shook China to its core

Newcomers

Since 2008, the handful of rescue teams in existence before Wenchuan, such as Blue Sky, have been joined by a raft of newcomers, all dedicated to providing assistance in the face of adversity.

According to the recently established Ministry of Emergency Management, before Wenchuan there were 27 State-backed earthquake rescue teams in China - one national team and 26 provincial outfits - that employed 4,200 people.

However, as of March, the number of employees had rocketed to more than 250,000, and the earthquake rescue system had evolved into a four-tier organization reaching down to the county level. At the same time, there were 11,000 volunteer rescue teams with 694,000 members.

Xiang Dong from Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, founded a volunteer rescue team in 2009 after friends told him how frustrated they had been during the Wenchuan relief operation.

Xiang named the team "Clouded Leopard", after the big cat renowned for its climbing abilities.

Xiang's team, which has more than 300 members, is equipped with 16 drones - including ones that can detect poisonous gases, and others designed specifically for rescue operations on water or in high-rise buildings - a command vehicle and thermal-imaging equipment.

"Our high-tech devices can guarantee to search an area of more than 100 square kilometers, and can provide an effective means of finding survivors, missing people and escape routes in dark, densely smoky and foggy environments in forests and ravines," he said.

When he traveled to Nepal to assist with relief efforts after the 2015 earthquake, Xiang led a team of three that pulled two seriously injured people from the rubble during their four days in the country.

He said members of India's official rescue team were astonished to discover that a voluntary team from China had access to thermal-imaging equipment when they worked together to search a collapsed building. "Only one or two in every 20 teams were equipped with that sort of equipment," he added.

The demands on those who want to join the team are high. In addition to being in excellent physical condition, members must be fluent in English. "We conduct rescues with high-tech devices, many of which we have imported from overseas. The members need to know English to read the instruction manuals," Xiang said.

Growing recognition

In keeping with its long history, the Blue Sky Rescue Team has been making efforts to win international recognition and support. In May, Zhang invited two senior Swiss experts from the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, or Insarag, a network of more than 80 countries and organizations that operates under the United Nations umbrella, to spend three days evaluating the team and giving lectures.

The team is working to ensure it will pass the Insarag External Classification appraisal procedure. If successful, Blue Sky will become the 52nd team in the world to pass the appraisal and only the second in China, after the Chinese International Search and Rescue Team, the national earthquake rescue team.

"China is a strong country. Our volunteers have gained deep rescue experience and have the ability to go beyond China to shoulder the country's international responsibilities, so we are making the effort to learn and improve," Zhang said.