Feature: Israeli rescue drill searches for "trapped" soldiers at rainy midnight

by Xinhua writer Chen Wenxian, Du Zhen

JERUSALEM, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- At rainy and cold midnight, a battalion with about 400 combat Israeli officers and soldiers were searching for "trapped" soldiers "quietly" in a rescue drill in an Israeli military base, just 5 kilometers away from the border to Gaza Strip.

The battalion was required to dig out about 30 "trapped" people within 3 hours starting from 1 am of last Thursday, including about 20 puppets and 10 real Israeli soldiers and "local residents," who were buried under the collapsed buildings destroyed by the "war" in a simulated "hostile area." And then they should rapidly transferred the saved persons to a relatively safe zone with a stretcher after simple field medical care.

Rescue crews were divided into several teams with about 6-10 persons for each team and they used all kinds of technologies and devices to hunt for life.

They did not know the exact location of these to-be-rescued targets, and they had to completely depend on their own experiences and close coordination.

A lot of soldiers were surrounding the "hostile area" with a combat posture and guns in their hands, with the aim of resisting the fires from "enemies" and ensure the rescue work go smoothly.

Each team should be built of at least three people, a commander, a medical instructor and an engineer, which is called a "golden triangle", Sharon Itach, Commander of Kedem Battalion Lieutenant Colonel on the exercise spot told Xinhua, the exclusive media invited to cover the drill. The more complicated the rescue mission is, the more crews would be involved in the "golden triangle", Itach added.

Although with the protection of the darkness, rescue crews were carrying out their mission as quiet as possible, with the headlamps installed in their helmets as the only light source. They got wet in the non-stop heavy rain, but this did not disrupt and delay their rescue mission at all.

After they found "trapped" soldiers under the collapsed buildings, they used rescue tools to remove barriers with their hands. Tools such as big pliers and hammers were also used if necessary. Hands often suffer from bleeding in the routine rescue drills, some soldiers told Xinhua.

Life-detection instruments were also utilized in the drill. Sniffer dogs were seen to cooperate with rescue crews closely and quietly. No barking was heard in the whole 3-hour-lasting rescue drill.

Combat soldiers involved in the drill carried these heavy rescue tools on back and walked for 7-8 kilometers and about 2 hours before they arrived at the simulated "hostile area," said Itach.

Rescue crews drew a sketch on the paper and identified the rescue location and environment after they rescued a person from the collapsed buildings. This method can help them to get experiences for the improvement of rescue speed and efficiency for the future rescue drill and real rescue mission as well.

If there is a need to evacuate, they will evacuate using helicopters, Yoav Sasson, Captain and Company Commander told Xinhua, adding that it was a challenge to rescue a person from a hostile area.

They are trained to find body parts of "trapped" soldiers in different situation quickly, especially heads, necks and shoulders. The Israeli officers and soldiers said they needed to understand that sometimes higher buildings could collapse in real life and they had to get prepared.

Among the rescue crew in the drill, 40 percent were female soldiers. However, there was difference between men and women. On the drill scene, female soldiers were seen to be strong enough to swing hammer and carry "injured" persons.

"Never give up" is the principle for the rescue team. They are required to always keep an eye contact with the person they are rescuing in order to keep him alive. Thus, they try to keep as much light as they can during night time and even at the dangerous hostile area.

Light means hope and darkness means death, noted Sasson. Enditem