On the Spring Festival, when most people are immersed in reunion and joy, there is a group of people who stick to their posts and are ready to face the sudden dangers at sea at any time. Let’s get close to the Beihai First Rescue Flight Team of the Ministry of Transport Rescue and Salvation Bureau to learn about the daily life of these "divine weapons from heaven"↓

The Beihai First Rescue Flight Team of the Ministry of Transport is responsible for the maritime aerial rescue mission in the Bohai Sea and the northern waters of the Yellow Sea.

At noon that day, the team members had just sat down for lunch when the phone number of the rescue commander on duty suddenly rang. The team members quickly put down their dishes and trotted all the way to prepare for their departure.

The co-pilot of the Beihai First Rescue Flight Team of the Ministry of Transport Liu Haiyang: Let me report the mission. The female patient was 78 years old, confused, accompanied by weak lower limbs and speech impairment for 7 hours. The patient was considered to have acute cerebrovascular disease.

Daqin Island is more than 50 kilometers away from land, and it takes 4 hours a day to take a boat and only 20 minutes to reach it.

After lifting the patient onto the helicopter, the crew was ready to return quickly. During the takeoff, the team members found an old man saluting a helicopter outside the apron. The team members learned afterwards that the old man was the old partner of the acute patient they rescued.

On this day, the on-duty crew carried out two rescue tasks in a row, and was placed aside after just a few mouthfuls of lunch. When I returned to the station, it was already late, and the co-pilot Liu Haiyang's instant noodles were still in the preparation room and almost didn't move.

The co-pilot of the Beihai First Rescue Flight Team of the Ministry of Transport Liu Haiyang: We have been on standby all day, and we have to go if we have a task, and we often don’t have time to have a meal.

Compared with the two missions this day, some rescue processes are full of dangers.

This was a rescue that occurred on October 15 last year. At that time, a fishing boat had an accident in the waters near Wafangdian City, Liaoning Province. The strong wind at sea was close to level 9. The crew in distress was already wet and hugged the mast tightly. The situation was very critical.

The reliable lifting point for rescuers to settle down is no longer found on the semi-sinking hull. Rescuers hung in the air and tried several times to approach the trapped people, but none of them succeeded.

It took only more than 3 minutes from the lifeguard leaving the plane to the crew in distress being finally rescued. Saving the lives of people in distress in the stormy waves is the daily work of the team members. When the rescued person is in danger, every second in the rescue mission is precious, and every operation must be accurately coordinated, which is inseparable from the usual high-intensity training. 70% of the flight time of the team members is spent on daily training.

In the past six months when the sea water temperature is below 15℃, the team members must wear anti-absorbing suits before performing training and rescue tasks.

In other words, the team members are planning for the worst-case scenario every time they board the plane.

The training began, and the team members randomly selected a passenger and roulette ship out of the port as the training target.

A rescue usually requires five crew members. The captain, co-pilot, two lifeguards and a winch. Every seemingly ordinary training is actually an extreme test of precise coordination, preparing for formal rescue.

Entering such a special profession, the team members are afraid of their families and rarely talk about work details. Everyone reports good news but not bad news.

During the Spring Festival, a heavy snow swept over. Cold air came and the sea became less peaceful. They were used to the rhythm of rushing to the ground at any time - because when the alarm sounded, it meant that there were people in the distance who needed their rescue waiting.

Since its establishment, the First Rescue Flight Team of the Ministry of Transport has carried out a total of 2,270 rescue missions and rescued 2,780 people in distress. In times of crisis, the team members always rushed to the most dangerous place without hesitation. Between the sea and the sky, they fought against the wind and waves to save their precious lives and lit up the light of hope in the vast sea.

(CCTV reporters Zhang Ping, Zhang Chen, Liang Zhi)