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Hikers airlifted off mountain
Updated: 2011-04-06 13:15
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Rescue helicopters were scrambled for the second time in two days on Tuesday morning after 17 amateur climbers were stranded for 21 hours on Lingshan Mountain, the highest peak in Beijing.
Authorities said the three choppers were sent to search for the group after they ran into difficulties on a challenging route.
As of 2 pm, all 12 men and five women with the 923hiker team from Changping district had been rescued, with two winched to safety due to severe exhaustion, said a police statement.
The operation came just one day after two adventurers had to be airlifted to safety from a peak in Fangshan district, the first time police helicopters have ever been used in a civilian rescue.
According to a forum popular among residents of Huilongguan community, where 923hiker is based, a total of 29 climbers set off at 6:30 am on April 4 to conquer Lingshan Mountain, which is 2,500 meters at its highest point. One group, which included children and took a simpler route, returned home that night, while the others became trapped in the western Longmen Gully, which is about 1,500 meters high.
After the alarm was raised, police officers, firefighters and volunteers with the Lantian Rescue Team searched through the night, with the SWAT unit helicopters joining in the next morning.
The hikers were spotted at about 9 am, which allowed chopper crews to drop food and coats for the cold and hungry hikers, according to a police statement.
More than 300 rescuers and two helicopters were also involved in a 13-hour rescue operation on the 1,300-meter-high Mao'er Mountain in Fangshan district on Monday, when 38 students and staff from Beijing Institute of Technology ran into trouble.
Due to the tough terrain, helicopters are vital to the search and rescue missions due to their superior visual range, said Zhang Yong, head of the Lantian Rescue Team.
However, they are expensive to use. The amount of fuel the helicopters burn in just three hours costs almost 10,000 yuan, Beijing Evening News reported on Tuesday. Those who receive help are not made to foot the bill though, as according to the public security bureau it is all part of the rescue service.
Seven more men got lost in Longmen Gully in Mentougou district at about midnight on Monday, with one of them reportedly injured. Firefighters rescued them early on April 4.
Regulations introduced by the General Administration of Sport in 2003 stipulate that mountain climbers must register with authorities before attempting peaks higher than 5,000 meters in the Tibet autonomous region and 3,500 meters in other parts of China.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
Todd Balazovic is a reporter for the Metro Section of China Daily. Born in Mineapolis Minnesota in the US, he graduated from Central Michigan University and has worked for the China Daily for one year.
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