Mom and children rescued from blizzard

Li Juan (a pseudonym) would never forget the scene when police officers saved her and two children from a blizzard with their scarred and trembling hands clinging to stubborn ice shards in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Tuesday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Influenced by extreme weather, the area was struck by a ferocious blizzard recently. As snow blocked roads, visibility dropped below 3 meters. Li never thought a 20-minute-drive would become a life-or-death journey through the snowstorm.

Li recalled the moment with a trembling voice. As the temperature raged, the car's GPS signals failed. The vehicle's front wheel sank into hidden ditches while the rear collided with guardrails buried under snow. "The car's thermometer showed temperatures inside the car dropping 1 degree Celsius every 10 minutes. And the windshield iced over extremely fast." She kept saying, "Stay awake, babies! Mom's here!" She used her down jacket to wrap around her children and scraped the frozen window to leave an SOS signal after calling the police.

Meanwhile, officer Liu Jun and his colleagues from Cuogang border police station fought through the storm toward Li's location after receiving her alarm. Upon arrival, they found the children's eyelashes had already been crystallized with ice and their cries were becoming fainter and fainter. Immediately, the officers braced against the misshapen car door while using tactical window breakers. "One! Two!" Only on the third strike the ice-glazed glass cracked and the family was saved.

With coordinated efforts by police, firefighters, and transportation departments, Li Juan and other trapped people were finally brought to safety, according to the report.

By now weather had gradually improved. Roads were cleared and traffic was restored in the region.