4 Days After China's High Speed Rail Crash, Police Captian's Insistence Saves 2 Year Old Girl

Special police captain’s insistence on continuing the search in situ results in rescue of little girl survivor

Even after it was announced that there were no more signs of life in the Wenzhou accident, two-and-a-half-year-old Yiyi was rescued. Special police captain Shao Yerong who was in charge of the rescue efforts at the time had received the order to have the train car lifted up and placed on the ground below the bridge to be cleared out. But it was Shao Yerong’s insistence on searching in situ that little Yiyi was rescued.

Special police forces captain insisted on continuing the search in situ, and this insistence brought a miracle

It was in the afternoon that I received the order saying that the crane would be used to lift up the train car and placed at the bottom of the bridge to be cleared out. I didn’t agree, and insisted on clearing it out while it was on the tracks in its original location.

Yes, you don’t know if there are still people alive inside, but what if there are? What would you tell others? My insistence also came with pressure, because after so many days, searching so many times, nothing alive, just stretcher after stretcher of the remains of victims being carried out. Previously on the #16 train car, we found 12 people, and not a single one was breathing. It was a really awful feeling.

But ultimately we still insisted and command agreed to us cleaning out in situ. At the time, we had two squads of special police on the scene, with some on the bridge and some below the bridge on the ground.

I used to handle traffic accident scenes, so I’ve seen a lot and I have experience. The firefighters and us special police were all on the tracks, and it was at the wreckage site that I temporarily took command, having the workers step withdraw we could begin clearing out the scene.

The little girl’s little hand was moving, I saw it too, and this reinvigorated everyone. Her back was facing us and she was hunched over and at the time we couldn’t tell if she was breathing but after we moved the things off her back, I saw her back move, like she was taking a big breath — after so many hours, with such a heavy thing crushing down on her, she hadn’t been able to take a good breath of air!