Chapter 242 – Rescue! (1/2)
Unexpected calamity!
No one had expected this to happen!
Dong Xuebing looked towards the buried tour bus and felt his head exploding. He cursed and ran towards the County’s leaders. The mud from the landslide had buried 3 to 4 tourists and several rescuers, which includes Hui Tian Village Station’s officers. Dong Xuebing is anxious, and one of his men was sacrificed. Public Security Bureau Chief Liang Chengpeng and the few team leaders of the rescue teams also ran towards Mayor Xie and Secretary Cao.
“Mayor Xie, what should we do now?”
“This place is too dangerous. You all should move to somewhere safer!”
“That’s right. There might be more landslides, and it is not safe here!”
The few accompanying officials suggested to Xie Huilan to evacuate the scene. During this time, the leaders must be protected, and nothing must happen to Mayor Xie. However, Xie Huilan was staring at the location where the bus was buried, and Cao Xupeng, also have not intentions of retreating. The ones trapped in the bus were not rescued, how can they leave now?
Liang Chengpeng sighed. “I’m afraid they cannot be rescued.”
A woman standing not far away was crying and pleading. “Please save my son! Someone… Please…”
A middle-aged couple was holding on to some rescuers’ arms. “My daughter is still inside! Hurry up and save her!”
“My husband is still on the bus!”
But no rescuers dare to go near, and if they want to dig a rescue tunnel to the bus, they will need heavy machinery or rescue vehicles. However, it will take time for the vehicles to arrive, and the road conditions are preventing them from reaching the accident site. The bus is now buried, and the air inside will not last until the rescue vehicles arrive. If they try to clear the mud with their bare hands, the falling rocks and mud might injure or even kill the rescuers. Everyone had rushed to the scene and had not brought any rescue equipment with them!
Furthermore, it was a massive landslide, and the people on the bus might have been killed from the impact.
Go and rescue them now? That will be risking your life!
Liang Chengpeng ordered his men to call for the rescue vehicles, and after he got the reply from them, he reported to Xie Huilan. “The rescue vehicles can only arrive in an hour.”
Xie Huilan replied with a straight face. “It will be too late!”
Cao Xupeng took a deep breath and added. “That’s right. Even if the air inside the bus can last for an hour, but the mud will be seeping through the windows, and there will be lesser air. They might not even last for 15 minutes. It will be too late by the time the rescue vehicles arrive!”
Liang Chengpeng asked. “Then… what should we do?”
The rain was still pouring, and the rescued passengers were crying and shouting.
Xie Huilan decided. “Rescue them! Continue with the rescue operations immediately!”
Liang Chengpeng’s eyes twitched. “Mayor Xie!” He also wanted to rescue the passengers, but he cannot put his men’s lives on the line. Rocks and mud are still falling from the mountains, and some rocks are the size of a football. It’s too dangerous to go into that area without protective gear!
Xie Huilan firmly replied. “I don’t care what you all do! Even if you all have to dig out the bus with bare hands, you all must also rescue everyone from the bus!”
Cao Xupeng gritted his teeth and said. “Save them!”
Liang Chengpeng had no choice but to obey to his leaders’ orders. He looked at his men and ordered them. “Get two officers with better fitness to rescue them!”
Dong Xuebing looked around. “Where is Liu Dahai?”
Chen Fa looked around. “Station Chief Liu was still here earlier.”
Everyone shouted for Liu Dahai, but there was no reply. Dong Xuebing’s face changed. “Old Liu is trapped in the bus? Damn!” It was too chaotic at the scene, and everyone was wearing raincoats. It’s hard to differentiate their identities, and they suddenly remembered Liu Dahai was helping with the rescue before the landslide. Dong Xuebing shouted. “Old Chen! Pick two men to rescue them! Hurry!”
“Yes!”
Chen Fa shouted to two officers, and some villagers passed spades to the officers. The two officers were scared, and their hands were trembling. But when they thought of the ones trapped in the bus, they still pushed themselves to go forward.
This is not a mudslide, and the rocks and debris are from the surface of the mountains. One can still walk on it.
Although the mud is knee-high, the officers can still walk on it.
One officer stepped on the thick mud and made his way forward slowly.
At this moment, Dong Xuebing and the rest were looking at both officers nervously!
The rain was not stopping and was foggy. The mountainside is extremely unstable after the massive landslide earlier, and many rocks were exposed. With the rain washing down on the rocks, many of them tumbled down the mountain. If the rocks were tumbling down from 5 to 6 meters, it was still fine. But many of the rocks are tumbling down from dozens of meters, and even a few hundred meters high! The force from the rocks is unthinkable!
One step…
Three steps…
Five steps…
Before the officer can take eight steps towards the bus, an accident happened!
A chipped rock rolled down the mountain, and Bam! That officer shouted in pain and fell onto the mud, holding his leg. He started to sink into the mud. Some parts of that area are deeper, and when that officer tried to get up, his other leg sunk into the mud!
The officer behind him saw it and stepped forward to pull him up.
But at that moment, 4 to 5 rocks rolled down from the mountains!
One of the rocks hit the second officer on his ribs, and another hit his head. That officer immediately collapsed onto the ground motionlessly!
Dong Xuebing urgently cried out. “Bring them back! Quick!”
Liang Chengpeng shouted to his men. “Go!”
A few firemen and villagers walked over quickly with their arms covering their heads to rescue those two officers. Some did not even step onto the mud, as they were afraid of getting hit by the falling rocks. Only five of them reached the two officers and carried them back to safety. The officers had fractures but were still alive.
After what had happened, no one dares to go forward.
This is not risking lives. It’s suicide!
Xie Huilan’s face turns black and shouted. “Go again!”
Liang Chengpeng saw no one moving, and he shouted to his men. “Xiao Li! You go!”
The officer from the County’s Bureau jumped and turns pale, but he cannot go against Chief Liang’s orders. He is skinny and did not sink into the two meters thick mud when he was walking on it. One meter… five meters… eight meters… He was getting closer to where the bus was, but when he was about to reach that spot, Xiao Li disappeared into the mud!
“Xiao Li!”
Xiao Li had fallen into a hole!
Liang Chengpeng was anxious, and he saw two arms waving frantically, trying to climb out of that hole. But the ground was wet and slippery, and he couldn’t climb out by himself. When Dong Xuebing and Liang Chengpeng shouted to the rest to rescue Xiao Li, Xiao Li’s arms stopped struggling and disappeared.
Another Public Security officer was sacrificed!
Liang Chengpeng’s eyes were red. He was the one who ordered Xiao Li, and if he did not ask him to go, he might not…
Someone from the rescue party shouted. “We must not go again!”
Someone added. “That’s right. The ones on the bus might be dead now!” Everyone was scared to be ordered to go to the bus.
Cao Xupeng had entered his car to call County’s Party Secretary Xiang Daofa to report on the situation. After he came out of the vehicle, he shouted. “Party Secretary Xiang had ordered to save the passengers at all costs!” He paused for a while and continued. “We cannot rush in, and the rescue vehicles will not be here in time! Hurry and think of other solutions!”
No one said a word.
What can they do? Other than walking across the mud and dig a hole to the tour bus, they have no other solutions!
But two men had died in the process, who dares to go near that area?