Soccer incident prompts fast action

When Yan Muken's teammate collapsed on the field during an amateur soccer game in September, Yan immediately thought of an incident involving Danish player Christian Eriksen more than a year before.

During a European Championship game in June 2021, Eriksen had a cardiac arrest and lay unconscious on the pitch. His life was saved by immediate CPR and electric shocks from a defibrillator before an emergency rescue team arrived.

"Our team captain and I had already had a discussion about the Eriksen incident, so the sudden collapse of our teammate instantly brought back memories of that scary moment and prompted us to take swift action to save him," Yan, 39, recalled.

Three seconds after the player collapsed, the referee suspended the game after calls for help from fellow players.

Within 90 seconds, Yan, along with three other players and bystanders, began performing CPR as the teammate showed no pulse or breathing response.

Five minutes after that, an automated external defibrillator, aka an AED, was brought onto the field and the first electric shock was delivered to restart the patient's heart.

"Seven minutes and 25 seconds after the incident started, my teammate had regained consciousness and was breathing, meaning that our first-aid efforts had been successful," Yan said.

To honor their swift action and help spread awareness of first-aid skills, Yan and the three others were awarded the title of The Top 10 Excellent First Aiders by the Red Cross Society of China last month.

In total, 10 individuals or groups that offered first aid in emergency situations, such as carrying out CPR on people having heart attacks or helping to save people from drowning, were given the honor, according to the Red Cross.

Looking back, Yan said that quick reaction to perform CPR and the installation of an AED device at the soccer field were among the crucial factors that helped contribute to his teammate's survival.

"Another player and I had received CPR training but we'd got rusty over time. Luckily, a doctor who was playing with a frisbee in a nearby playground noticed what was happening and joined us," he said.

"While she was repeatedly pushing down on the patient's chest, we took turns to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

Yan added that several teammates had rushed to collect the AED from the soccer field's service center and brought it back within three minutes.

"Later, at the hospital, we learned that while consistent CPR had guaranteed blood and oxygen supplies to vital organs, the AED had played an important role in delivering electric shocks to help reestablish an effective heartbeat," he said.

He added that respect for the patient meant that he was initially reluctant to recount the incident to the media.

"However, we gradually realized that the experience could be a great example to raise awareness of first aid," he said.

"A professional videographer originally tasked to record the match documented the first-aid process, so we have video clips to show details to the public.

He added, "As public enthusiasm for regular fitness activities is rising, the chances of cardiac arrests during workouts could also rise, so it is particularly important for sporting facilities to have an AED.

"I heard that many stadiums have now equipped themselves with AEDs and are also rolling out CPR training. This is exactly the sort of thing we hoped would happen."