Our peacekeepers waded into the mud to help unload the cargo from the truck. Shen Yulong/photo
Our peacekeepers tried to use a tractor to pull the truck out of the quagmire. Shen Yulong/photo
After the rescue, the truck driver happily shook hands with our peacekeepers and thanked them. Shen Yulong/photo
Huang Xin, Li Jian, reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network, Gong Ayuan
"Thank you to the Chinese peacekeepers, if it weren't for your presence, I don't know how long I would have been trapped here......" Recently, the 10th batch of Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalions to South Sudan (Juba) encountered a local truck trapped in the quagmire in the middle of the road on the way to a long patrol mission. Afterwards, the truck driver clasped the hands of the peacekeepers and thanked them repeatedly.
At present, South Sudan is in the rainy season, and in the past few days, the Tingdilo area in the north of the capital Jubasi has been affected by continuous rainfall, and many sections of the road have been flooded, and the roads are muddy and difficult to walk. In the morning, officers and soldiers of the Chinese Peacekeeping Infantry Battalion, which was on a joint long-term patrol mission, escorted United Nations staff to Trindillo, where they were scheduled to carry out mandated tasks such as conflict mediation.
When the convoy drove about 10 kilometers out of the temporary operation base, a man in black on the side of the road attracted the attention of the commander Wang Cai, who saw him constantly waving to the convoy while pointing in the direction of the convoy. Wang Cai soon discovered that about 100 meters in front of the convoy, a truck full of charcoal was parked in a muddy puddle in the middle of the road, and the wheels had been submerged in muddy water.
"The convoy pulled over, there was a vehicle stuck in front of it!" Seeing this, Wang Cai immediately ordered the convoy to stop and arranged for an interpreter to come forward to understand the situation. It turned out that five days ago, the truck was on its way from Tindilo to Juba city when it accidentally drove into a mud pool and silted up while passing through the wading section. The truck driver made several attempts to save himself and ask for help from passing vehicles, but all failed, and he had to wait for rescue. Without food or water, the driver was already hungry and thirsty enough to drink water from a mud puddle on the side of the road to quench his thirst. It wasn't until the appearance of Chinese peacekeepers that he saw hope again.
After learning of the situation, Wang Cai immediately arranged for the escort to continue to escort the UN staff to their destination, while the remaining personnel stayed behind to organize the rescue. They first went forward to inspect the degree of desilting of the vehicle, and then discussed and formulated a rescue plan in combination with the rescue equipment carried by the vehicle.
Considering the limited rescue tools at the scene, Wang Cai transferred a tractor from the temporary operation base to carry trailer tools to support. However, due to the fact that the rear wheels of the vehicle were completely stuck in the mud puddle and the cargo on the vehicle was too heavy, the tractor was unable to tow the trapped vehicle out after several attempts. As a result, the officers and men took off their equipment one after another and jumped into the quagmire to try to increase the force on the wheels by unloading some of the goods, cleaning up the mud, and putting stones under the wheels. In the end, after nearly two hours of unremitting efforts by peacekeepers, the trapped vehicle was successfully rescued.
Just as the truck driver was happy and ready to leave, the accident happened again, and the vehicle still couldn't drive normally after starting. Subsequently, repairman Zhang Jian immediately conducted a comprehensive inspection of the condition of the vehicle and found that the transmission shaft, gear lever, clutch and other parts of the truck were seriously damaged. "Don't worry, leave it to us!" Wang Cai immediately comforted the truck driver and said. However, due to the lack of repair tools and parts at the site, after consultation with the driver, it was decided to tow the vehicle to the temporary operating base for full repairs. Finally, after nearly 1 hour of hard work, the vehicle successfully regained power and left smoothly.
"Seeing the happy smile on the driver's face as he left, all the effort was worth it." Zhang Jian, a soldier of the peacekeeping infantry battalion, said, "No matter when and where, as long as the local people are in difficulty, we will stand up, and this is our mission and responsibility as Chinese peacekeepers." ”
Source: China Youth Daily client