16 stranded on small island in Tibet
( 2003-09-22 08:04) (China Daily)
A 16-member team consisting of 13 journalists, two drivers and a guide who
were taking part in a scientific expedition in western China are stranded on a
small island 5,000 metres above sea level in Tibet.
The group is facing a severe shortage of drinking water because supply trucks
trying to reach them was stuck in mud on the way on Saturday morning, sources
with the sponsor of the expeditions told China Daily in a telephone interview
yesterday.
"The drinking water they have is just enough to sustain them for two days and
some of the team members have caught cold and have high fevers," said Ding Ming,
general manager of Guiyang Laiguishan Wine Industry Co Ltd in Southwest China's
Guizhou Province. The wine company has sponsored the trip.
Rescue operations are under way and a group of armed policemen is on the way
to the small island in Ari in Tibet to see if it can assist the stranded people,
Ding said.
He expressed worries that the rescuers won't be able to reach the group in
time, because the island is located in a mountainous area some 600 kilometres
away from Ari.
Ding said it will take at least four days for the rescuers to drive to the
nearest highway, about 150 kilometres away from the site, with a vast expanse of
swamp land between the two areas.
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