Mine owner does his part

BEICHUAN, Sichuan: It was the main highway leading to Beichuan, a town near the epicenter of the earthquake that rocked Sichuan province on May 12.

But smashed vehicles and boulders lay across the thoroughfare, rent with large cracks that threatened to swallow people whole.

Those who made it into the town were faced with rows of collapsed houses, schools and bodies of quake victims.

Yet all this did not deter or faze Wang Zhanyou. The 44-year-old Wang, a native of Heilongjiang province had traveled thousands of miles to Beichuan by car and foot to do what he could for quake victims.

He managed to rescue four victims from the debris on May 15.

An owner of a coalmine in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Wang was on his way from Chengdu to Shimian county to inspect a mine project when the quake occurred.

His jeep was fortunate to escape falling rocks and companions tried to persuade him to leave Sichuan as soon as possible, but Wang refused.

"I happened to be there and was not injured. I had to help," Wang said yesterday in Beijing.

At this point, his right leg was seriously injured from his rescue efforts, so he was forced to leave the area for treatment.

Wang's experience of working in mines helped the rescues. Together with another companion, Wang rushed back to Chengdu on May 13 and bought two portable hoisting jacks, big pincer pliers, two hack saws, two hammers and necessities such as waterproof material, food and water.

"Without this equipment, none of the four people could have been saved in Beichuan," said Wang, who had previously participated in two coalmine rescues.

As Wang described how he managed to pull the survivors out of the debris, his face lit up. Because mudslides stopped traffic, Wang had to abandon his vehicle and walk at least 20 km before reaching a village near Beichuan. At a collapsed five-story building, he heard cries under debris.

The rescue was dangerous because Wang said he had to descend into collapsed buildings to clear broken bricks and hammer through fallen walls.

"If the movement had caused any further collapse of the structures, I would have died. But under such circumstances, no one would care. You can't leave the people buried alive there," he said.

The first survivor, a 30-year-old man, was pulled out about four hours after the rescue efforts. Wang said he forgot to ask the man for his name because he found two other women buried nearby. After they were rescued, Wang rushed to the next village and pulled another 50-year-old woman out of the rubble.

The day after, Wang headed for Wenchuan county, but could only reach Yingxiu town because all the roads were cut off.

"We found no survivors there, only corpses," Wang said.

"We gave all our waterproof material to the local homeless, as well as most of our food and water. We also offered them about 10,000 yuan ($1,439)."

However, Wang said he was glad to find many voluntary rescuers like him along his trip. Media has reported that a number of private businessmen had rushed to the quake site as soon as they heard of the disaster.

Chen Guangbiao, president of Jiangsu Huangpu Investment (Group) Co Ltd, had brought 120 drivers and 60 digging machines from eastern China all the way to Sichuan to assist relief and road reconstruction. Wang Leilei, chief executive officer of Tom Online, a major website in China, rushed to Chengdu and Dujiangyan the second day after the quake with a self-organized team.

Wang says his experience has helped him realize what good things can be done with wealth. He plans to help build a primary school in Sichuan.

"These impulses may roll on for a long time after the ground has ceased to tremble," he said.

(China Daily 05/29/2008 page18)