Dar es Salaam, 15 Nov (Xinhua) -- A new flower on the big tree of China-Africa friendship -- remember Chinese Zhang Lin bravely saving a young child in a plane crash in Tanzania
Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Hao
For 30-year-old Zhang Lin, November 6, 2022 was originally an ordinary day. However, an unexpected aviation accident made him unforgettable this day for the rest of his life.
Zhang Lin is an employee of the Tanzania branch of China Communications Construction Group Second Highway Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., and came to Tanzania three years ago. On November 6, he woke up early and took Precision Airlines flight PW-494 at 6 a.m. from Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania, to the city of Bucoba in Cagera province, on the shores of Lake Victoria, where the company project is located.
Zhang Lin described the horror scene at that time in a written interview with reporters a few days ago...
The plane was supposed to arrive at its destination at 8 o'clock, but due to thunderstorms and poor visibility at the airport, the plane was delayed in landing.
After circling for more than twenty minutes, the plane finally began to land slowly. Suddenly, a loud bang stunned everyone. Zhang Lin raised his head and saw that the oxygen mask above the seat automatically popped out, the front of the cabin of the aircraft was flooded with a large amount of water and continued to sink, and the water level at the rear also rose rapidly. The exclamations of the passengers in the cabin were heard one after another.
It turned out that the plane accidentally fell into Lake Victoria, about 100 meters from the airport, due to bad weather and limited vision during the forced landing. Danger is imminent.
Zhang Lin tried his best to restrain his inner fear, and while recalling the company's daily safety training and emergency drills, he repeatedly told himself to "calm down, don't panic". He hurriedly took out the life jacket under the seat and put it on his body, and walked to the emergency door of the cabin. At this time, the water level in the cabin continued to rise, and it was almost overhead. Zhang Lin's eyes were watery and his breathing began to be difficult, but he knew very well that the emergency hatch was the door of life and must be opened.
Fortunately, with the assistance of him and several passengers, the flight attendants finally opened the emergency hatch and everyone rushed out of it. After Zhang Lin came out of the cabin, he climbed onto the wing floating on the water. He shouted in English to those blocking the hatch to leave quickly, leaving an escape route for those behind, while helping those who surfaced climb onto the wings to ensure safety.
At this time, Zhang Lin suddenly saw that someone was holding a toddler at the door of the rear cabin and was struggling, and the situation was critical, and the toddler could fall into the water at any time.
Zhang Lin, who had temporarily escaped the danger, did not think much, immediately climbed along the wing to the fuselage, slowly moved to the rear of the aircraft near the rear hatch, saw the opportunity, took the child into his arms, and then carefully returned to the wing along the original road.
"Children are in danger, and it is important to save people." Zhang Lin described his mood at that time.
Local fishermen and search and rescue teams rescue passengers in distress at the site of a plane crash into a lake in Tanzania's Kagera province on November 6. Xinhua News Agency
Soon, nearby fishermen drove small fishing boats to the scene to rescue. Zhang Lin, holding a one-year-old child in his arms, was successfully rescued with other passengers and sent to a local hospital for examination and treatment.
In this crash, a total of 43 people were on board the crashed plane, of which 24 were rescued and 19 were killed. In the afternoon of the same day, Tanzanian Prime Minister Majaliwa went to the scene of the accident to guide the rescue and visited the rescued passengers in the hospital. After learning that Zhang Lin, the only Chinese passenger on board, calmly coped with the dangerous situation and actively assisted in the rescue and rescue of local children, Majaliwa praised and thanked him.
Tanzanian Prime Minister Majaliwa (left) visits Zhang Lin (right) at Kagera Provincial Hospital on November 6. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of Tanzanian Prime Minister's Office)
The next morning, the mother of the rescued child, who was also being treated in the hospital, found Zhang Lin in the hospital with her child in her arms and thanked him. What makes everyone feel amazing is that the child rescued by Zhang Lin does not cry or make trouble in front of him, but also opens his arms for him to hold, as if he knows that this uncle from China is his lifesaver.
According to the local media outlet The National, Rutinda, the mother of the rescued boy, is 7 months pregnant. At the time of the accident, every passenger was trying to save himself, Rutinda holding the child in his left hand and the lifebuoy in his right hand. When a Chinese passenger saw it, he picked up the child and took him to the canoe that came to rescue the passengers.
The child's father, Mwesiguwa, is an employee of the Kagera Sugar Company. In a telephone interview with a Xinhua reporter, he said that he was preparing to welcome his wife and children in Bucoba when the plane crashed, but he waited for the unfortunate news that the plane crashed into the lake.
"When I heard that a Chinese had saved my child, I cried with joy. The child is fine now. I will never forget Zhang Lin's heroic deeds, and his actions are indelible in my mind. ”
The mother of a rescued child expresses her gratitude to Zhang Lin (right) at Kagera Provincial Hospital in Tanzania on November 7. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Du Shuai)
Zhang Lin's deeds soon spread throughout the company. The branch leader said that Zhang Lin's performance in this incident showed the high degree of social responsibility of Chinese enterprise employees.
In that year, Chinese worked hard in Tanzania and built the famous Tanzania-Zambia Railway, which became a monument to China-Africa friendship; Today, Zhang Lin's feat of bravely saving local children regardless of his personal safety has become a new flower on the tree of China-Africa friendship.
Editor: Shu Mengqing
Source: Xinhuanet