Two drivers competing in an 11-day cross-country race were rescued yesterday after being lost for nearly 50 hours in Lop Nur, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

One hitch-hiked 50 kilometres before catching a ride to a town where he found help yesterday. Meanwhile, a rescue team dispatched earlier came across the other driver in Lop Nur.

Pu Yongsheng, the driver, and Zhao Lixue, the guide, strayed off course shortly after they set out to cross Lop Nur on Tuesday afternoon.

Pu and Zhao were confirmed lost on Wednesday night, and a mass search began.

The search proved difficult due to the desert's harsh conditions.

At around 4 pm yesterday, the pair's vehicle was discovered buried in the sand about 50 kilometres from the group's starting point and both drivers were found to be healthy and safe, according to Fang Zheng, chief organizer of the cross-country event.

"Their vehicle broke down because of a battery problem, meanwhile the transmitter-receiver in the vehicle also went wrong," Fang told China Daily.

Pu and Zhao are both from a cross-country automobile club in Shanghai. Pu, who is in charge of the club, is also a lawyer, according to the Shanghai Transportation Radio.

The pair had been carrying enough food and water for two days with them, said Fang.

Because he is younger than Pu, Zhao, the guide, abandoned the vehicle and walked in the harsh windy weather for 50 kilometres before he finally hitch-hiked to the local government headquarters of Lop Nur town 60 kilometres away to seek help, reported the Shanghai Oriental Television.

At the same time, a rescue team from Ruoqiang County, which Lop Nur belongs to, found the buried vehicle and Pu 50 kilometres from their starting place.

The pair would join the automobile club at the group's next stop, Zhao, the guide, was quoted by Shanghai Oriental TV as saying.

Fifty-eight vehicles from domestic clubs in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Shanghai, Shandong and Henan Province, took part in the 4,000-kilometre-long competition, which started in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang last Saturday.

Five competitors have already quit the event due to the road and weather conditions, said Fang. The event will end at Akesu on Tuesday.

Lop Nur is known for its harsh conditions. It recently aroused people's attention as experts said a dry corpse discovered in Lop Nur is likely to be Peng Jiamu (1925-1980), the scientist who was lost in Lop Nur in June 1980 during a scientific exploration. DNA tests are under way to confirm the speculation.

(China Daily 05/05/2006 page1)