Mountain rescue team reaches for peak efficiency

Exact location

Locating people in need of rescue takes time and effort. Wang said this is the most important part of an outdoor rescue.

Before a rescue team starts a mission, Wang said the first part of the procedure is to talk to the person seeking help and establish what their injuries are, and whether they can walk.

"When someone needs to be rescued, knowing their exact condition is a necessary requirement because the number of rescuers dispatched and the equipment carried will depend on that information," Wang said.

The location function on WeChat or snapshots of routes taken from hiking Apps, play vital roles in rescue teams quickly locating a person. However, in most cases this is complicated by the mountainous terrain or the depletion of the cellphone battery. This results in rescues in such terrain often exceeding 10 hours, he said.

"We have established a mechanism to cope with prolonged rescue missions," Wang said.

"Another team of six firefighters, serving as a backup rescue force, will be deployed if the initial team has been searching for more than 10 hours. The team on the mountain will schedule rotations, and descend to rest and eat. The next team takes over the search operations, using cellphones and beepers as communication tools."

The Beijing Mountain Rescue Team carries out searches and rescues at the request of the police, and almost the entire operation is government-funded.