By Fei Xiaoxi
DARFUR, SUDAN, Oct. 16 (ChinaMil) -- China’s peacekeeping helicopter detachment to Darfur in Sudan dispatched one Mi-171 transport helicopter to Taweelah on the morning of October 13for medical evacuation mission.
The helicopter’s crew members successfully transported a soldier of the Senegalese quick-reaction detachment who was accidentally shot in the foot to El-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur in Sudan, for further treatment. The Senegalese military then expressed their sincere appreciation for Chinese peacekeepers’ help.
At 11 a.m. on Oct. 13, the aviation department of the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) notified the Chinese peacekeeping helicopter detachment to activate its medical back-up flight plan and prepare to fly to Taweelah for the mission of transferring an injured soldier to El-Fasher.
A Chinese Mi-171 transport helicopter took off at 12:05 pm and landed at the airport apron in Taweelah at 1:05 pm.
The crew members of helicopter learned from the Senegalese military doctors that the soldier suffered a serious injury from a perforating bullet wound of his foot.
Due to limited local medical resources, it was difficult to clean the injured wound thoroughly. If the soldier could not be transferred to a big hospital in time, he would be at risk of amputation.
In order to minimize the time and relieve the pain of the soldier, the Chinese crew members completed necessary paperwork such as check-in, stretcher fix and in-flight medical care in less than 5 minutes and took off at 1:10 pm.
The helicopter landed at the El-Fasher Airport around 50 minutes later, where an ambulance had been ready to transport the wounded soldier to the hospital.