
The China International Search and Rescue Team in Haiti pose for a group photo with CRI's deputy director-general Wang Minghua, during their visit to CRI on Wednesday, January 27, 2010. The 50-member team returned to Beijing Wednesday after completing their mission in Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti. The rescue team was replaced by a 40-member medical team that arrived in Port-au-Prince Monday. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
Related: Chinese Doctors Arrive in Quake-hit Haiti
Those Days in Haiti
2nd Batch of Chinese Relief Materials Arrives in Haiti
The medical staff of the China International Search and Rescue Team visited China Radio International after they arrived in Beijing Wednesday from a 15-day rescue mission in Haiti.
China dispatched a 50-member rescue team, consisting of search and rescue personnel, medical staff and three sniffer dogs just hours after the 7.3-magnitude earthquake rocked the Caribbean country on Jan. 12. They started work as soon as they arrived in Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti.
Huang Jianfa, head of the team, said they had retrieved more than 20 bodies and gave medical assistance to about 2,500 injured people, 500 of whom were in serious condition.
China's second rescue team, made up of 40 staffers who will offer medical care and help with the prevention of epidemics, arrived in Port-au-Prince Monday.
Meantime, the Chinese government has sent its second batch of disaster relief materials worth about 25 million yuan ($3 million) to Haiti.
More than 200,000 people are believed to have been killed in the quake, and the poor situation in the country hampered the rescue efforts.
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Han Wei has participated in international disaster relief work several times and is also among the rescue team to Haiti.
"We worked over 10 hours in the field every day. When we first arrived in Haiti, we mainly focused on the ruins to give on-the-spot rescues. After the golden 72-hours for rescue, we changed our priority to open medical aid posts. Then we paid more attention on medical prevention and psychological counseling." |
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Wang Mingxin says it is the most chaotic situation they've ever dealt with.
"First, the public order in Haiti is in a mess with lots of violence happening and our lives are in danger. Second, it is a challenge for us to cooperate with other rescue teams from different countries and the local UN peace-keeping troops from around the world. But we did pretty well and that's a good experience for us to learn. Last but not least, it was the first time that our team traveled so far to do the rescue work."
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Hou Shike is the deputy head of the search and rescue team.
"Our rescue work in Haiti faced many difficulties. All the tasks were very urgent, allowing us less than three hours for preparation. Besides, the medical care work was hard to start. As Haiti's medical service is very weak, lots of people injured in the earthquake could not receive treatments or get medicine. Also, the society disorder brought obstruction to our rescue work. For example, some dangerous criminals escaped after the prison collapsed, and they could threaten the society stability. And some refugees could not find food and drink; they are easily angered and may cause riots." |
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Lin Mudan from General Hospital of Armed Police Forces is one of the four female members of the search and rescue team.
"We did the same work with our male colleagues, such as carrying heavy boxes and pitching tents. But our major tasks were giving medical treatment and providing psychological assistance to local people, and the sanitization work as well." |
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