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Heroic story of a pretty tour guide
By Guan Xiaomeng (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-01-20 11:14 It was a terrible accident: the bus, horribly
mangled on the outskirts of a road, after crashing into a coal truck; badly
injured people trapped in the wreckage, unable to free themselves, with some,
unfortunately, having already died before help could arrive.
However, in the dying chaos, a voice, though faint, injected a strong hope
for the living -- not for herself, but for the others: "I am the guide, and I am
obligated to help my tour group."
Wen Huazhi, a 23-year-old tour guide, declined help for herself insisting the
rescuers try to save all the survivors trapped in the grave wreckage, at the
cost of her left leg.
A file photo of Wen
Huazhi. [Xinhua] | The accident in Yan'an of
Northwest China's Shaanxi Province claimed 6 deaths and seriously injured 14.
The passenger bus that Wen and her tourists were in ran into a truck carrying
coal on their way to a tour site. Later, when Wen regained consciousness for the
first time after the heavy collision, only to find her lower body pinned in her
seat, rendering her unable to move at all.
Wen's lower leg was broken, with the bone already exposed outside. What was
even more painful was when she found the bus driver and another tour guide, who
sat near her, already dead before rescuers could arrive.
However, she refused to be rescued when aid first came to her, "As the tour
guide, I am obliged to put my tourists first," she insisted.
One of the survivors recalled the breathtaking scene. "It was a terrible
crash and it took quite a long time for the rescuers to get each one of us
free," he said. "I wouldn't have managed to make it until I was rescued if Wen
hadn't struggled to encourage us to hold on."
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