By Hu Yinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-22 07:19

Pengzhou, SICHUAN: 81-year-old Yang Yixu, a resident of Xinxing town, who injured her head in the earthquake, looked puzzled when she was taken to the sports ground of the Pengzhou Vocational School.

She had never seen a field hospital before, and especially one attended by foreigners.

Yang was one of many transferred yesterday from other hospitals to Pengzhou. The field hospital is being manned by a group of 67 medical personnel, cleaners and security officers sent by the Ministry for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Response of Russia.

The team arrived in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, on Tuesday evening and rushed to Pengzhou.

It arrived with 4 tons of medicine and equipment. Its members are experienced in emergency care, surgery, pediatrics, neurology, and psychological counseling.

"The medical team will strive to offer the most timely and professional assistance to their Chinese counterparts," field hospital chief, Alexander Ivanus, said.

"We are all professionals and have experience in emergency relief work. We have been to Sri Lanka, the Kashmir region, Indonesia, and Pakistan to help in earthquakes and tsunamis. We have also been on medical missions to the former Yugoslavia, India, Iran, Turkey, and Taiwan," Ivanus said.

"Our specialty is in dealing with bone fractures and brain injuries, which are most common among quake survivors."

Ivanus said "the local authorities in China had shown very good organization, not seen in other countries".

(China Daily 05/22/2008 page4)