(Video by Wang Juwei, Han Song, Wang Fan, and Wang Shuai)
By Ji Jiaqi, Li Xiaoyue, Ma Shuaiwei and Li Zewen
BEIJING, July 26 -- An engineering and chemical defense brigade of the army under the PLA Central Theater Command, together with the armed police force and the professional rescuers from China Aneng Group, a construction engineering company, have been busy using mechanical and emergency pontoons to block the dike breach in the Weihe River, Hebi City, central China's Henan Province since July 24. The rescue work has been going on for more than 40 hours at press time.
On July 23, the rescuers, with the help of the powered pontoon bridge, had built two ferrying rafts, 40 meters long and 8 meters wide for each with a carriage way of 5 meters wide and a total carrying capacity of up to 65 tons. More than 1,400 stranded residents were successfully evacuated within 4 hours.
It is learned that the powered pontoon bridge involved in the rescue is one of the most advanced water rescue equipment in China, which can rapidly set up floating bridges and connect ferrying rafts to form various floating structures, in a bid to ensure the smooth pass of personnel and large-scale equipment. It has participated in multiple disaster rescue operations such as the one in flood-affected Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province in 2020, and the one in Anhui Province in 1998.
