BEIJING, June 23 -- A PLA Nansha Garrison unit received an emergency call for help from a fishing boat on nearby waters on June 2. A Chinese fisherman was in critical condition when his right hand was squeezed by the hull of his boat while fishing.
Upon receiving the call, the unit contacted the signal tower and the duty room on the reef to cut short the boat’s docking time. Meanwhile, the hospital on the reef kept in touch with the boat to instruct on first-aid for the wound.
At 00:20 in the morning of June 3, the doctors, together with the garrison troops, boarded the boat and found that three fingers of the injured right hand were broken, resulting in various degrees of fracture, thus requiring immediate surgery. The garrison unit transferred the wounded to the hospital on the reef for surgical treatment. Ultimately, the fisherman’s fingers were saved, after a 4-hour operation done by the surgical team.
On June 16, He Qiang, the injured fisherman, sent a letter of thanks to the PLA Nansha Garrison after being discharged from the hospital.
It is learned that in recent years, the medical rescue facilities and mechanisms on the Nansha islands and reefs have been increasingly improved, by which the garrison troops could cooperate with the military medics to provide effective care for the health of the troops and residents. Since May this year, the garrison troops have successfully carried out 18 rescue operations of diverse types.