By Sun Guangyong from People’s Daily

When more than 13,000 people in 13 villages of Laos were threatened by a flood caused by the dam collapse on a July night, the Chinese rescue teams warmed up the disaster-hit locals with a helpful hand.

China’s Blue Sky Rescue (BSR) team, a non-governmental professional rescue organization, volunteered to take part in the rescue mission at the first moment after learning the dam collapse in Snamsai County of Attapeu Province on July 23.

The head of BSR’s Thailand unit Yin Yandong, leader of the BSR advance team Pi Jianjun, doctor Tao Chengcheng and a volunteer reached the disaster-hit area on the morning of July 27, and the team also dispatched four vehicles, four boats and 20 aid workers in two groups to the area, who rescued 9 stranded citizens that day.

In order to transfer a child in Banbo village who had run a fever for four days to the district hospital, Yin and other rescuers raced against time and danger by driving the car with a top speed in the mud.

“We only hope to reduce their loss as much as possible through our efforts,” said Yin.

The devastating flood, especially the sludge formed after that, made the rescue especially difficult, Yin told People’s Daily, adding that the rescuers could only walk to the area as the boats could not get through the sludge.

Every step took a lot of efforts, said the team leader, explaining that in the last two days, the rescuers had to crawl forward in the mud, which was a severe test both physically and psychologically.

Despite this, the rescuers, upholding the spirit to never give up and leave no one behind, kept on searching for the affected people, Yin noted.

“We see hope as we see the rescuers in blue,” said a local villager.

After the BSR entered the disaster-hit area as the first non-governmental rescue team, it dispatched over 80 rescuers to fight against the disaster day and night.

Apart from BSR, other Chinese rescue forces also played a crucial role in the disaster relief, such as the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) medical team, the Rescue Team of Ram Union, non-governmental voluntary organizations in Guizhou, Xiamen, Beijing and the 9958 emergency rescue platform. They all headed for the disaster area in Laos immediately after the disaster took place.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. China lent a hand to Laos right away after the disaster, which once again reflects the deep friendship between the two governments and the two peoples, said Lao Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Baikham Khattiya.

The Lao government and people are grateful for that, and will never forget China’s strong support, she noted.

人民日报记者 孙广勇

7月23日夜间，老挝阿速坡省萨南赛县的一处水电站发生副坝溃坝事故，造成萨南赛县13个村庄共1.3万余人受灾。在得知灾情后，中国民间专业救援机构蓝天救援队立即向老挝政府提出志愿参与救援行动。

7月27日清晨，蓝天救援队泰国队队长尹岩冬、蓝天救援先遣组组长皮建军、医生陶成诚及一名志愿者进入灾区。在得知有被困的村民需要进行转移时，蓝天救援队立即派出4车4船20人分成两组前往灾区，当日救出9名受困灾民。

在班波村，一名面部通红的孩子已经发烧4天，尹岩冬与救援队员一起将孩子转送到萨南赛县医院。救援车在泥泞的道路上颠簸着，尹岩冬让司机尽量加快速度，车子像洪水中的小舟，摇晃着艰难前行。“只希望通过自身努力救助更多受灾民众，只希望他们的损失能小一点，再小一点……”尹岩冬说。

阿速坡的这场洪灾，破坏性极大，救援难度极高。“尤其是灾后，洪水变成淤泥。”尹岩冬对记者说，多个区域无法使用船只，只能靠救援队员徒步进入。在最后的两天，淤泥开始陷脚，每走一步都需要花费很大力气，队员们不得不在淤泥中爬行前进，这更是对救援队员身体和心理的严峻考验，但蓝天救援队员依然秉承“不抛弃、不放弃”的精神坚持搜索。村民伊穆对记者说：“看到救援队的蓝色，我们就看到了希望。”

作为第一支进入老挝溃坝事故灾区的民间救援队，蓝天救援队有80多位队员在灾区连续奋战。除了蓝天救援队，解放军医疗队、公羊救援队还有贵州阳光、厦门曙光、北京双闪以及9958应急救援协作平台派出的救援队等多支中国救援力量，也在灾难发生后第一时间前往老挝受灾地区，为救灾发挥了重要作用。

老挝劳动社会福利部副部长拜坎说：“患难见真情。老挝阿速坡省洪灾发生后，中国第一时间伸出援手，再次体现了两国政府和两国人民之间的深情厚谊，老挝政府和人民对此深表感激，将永远铭记中方的大力支持。”

引自：人民日报