Xue Xiao, a student at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, recently traveled to Beijing to thank the people who saved his life after the Wenchuan earthquake in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.
Xue is a familiar face in China where he is known to millions as the “Coke Boy.”
Three years ago the 8.0-magnitude earthquake trapped Xue and his classmates, who were taking a chemistry class, under rubble. Rescue workers discovered them the next morning and a pipe with glucose flowing in it was handed down to Xue to give him nutrition.
Hours later a woman squeezed into a narrow crack in the debris and reached out to shake Xue’s hand. Despite strong aftershocks, the woman repeatedly crawled into the crevice to speak to Xue. Later a man arrived at the scene and asked the young student what he would like to do after his rescue. Xue replied, “I want to drink coke.”
The man promised to give him a can of coke and the moment he was carried out of the debris on a stretcher, Xue reminded the man of his promise. “Uncle, I want to drink coke, with ice,” Xue said.
The scene was aired on TV, and Xue became known throughout the country.
The woman who crawled into the crevice and the man who offered coke, however, weren’t simply well meaning strangers. They were members of the China International Search and Rescue Team (CISAR). The woman, Liu Yahua, is a doctor at the General Hospital of the Armed Police Force in Beijing, and the man, Zhang Jianqiang, is a military officer.
When rescuing Xue and his classmates, CISAR members dug through rubble with their hands rather than mechanical tools as they feared vibrations from the machinery would cause the further collapse of the damaged building.
Working with only their hands, it took them more than 50 hours to get Xue out. Yin Guanghui, a senior member of the CISAR and an official with the China Earthquake Administration, said the CISAR handled the toughest rescue work, so at times the team invested dozens of hours to save one person.
The CISAR was officially established on April 27, 2001. At the turn of the century, the Chinese Government decided a national rescue team was a necessity for post-disaster rescue and relief operations.
Over the past decade, the CISAR has expanded from 222 to 480 members. It has successfully completed 16 post-disaster search and rescue operations, including seven domestic deployments and nine overseas missions in Algeria, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Haiti, New Zealand and Japan.
Thirteen minutes after the Wenchuan earthquake struck, CISAR members began to assemble. An hour later they departed for Sichuan aboard several military planes, carrying equipment and supplies. After leaving their aircraft, more than 20 trucks took them to the quake’s epicenter in Wenchuan County.
Just a minute after their arrival at the scene, they found a survivor. Over the next 15 days, 190 CISAR members worked for 120 hours in the four worst-hit areas, pulling survivors out of the most difficult locations. Always ready
No matter where he is—at office, at home or on the streets—Song Jianxin, deputy head of the CISAR, always remembers to keep his cellphone on to stay in touch with the China Earthquake Administration. Whenever an earthquake strikes anywhere in the world, Song wants to know, as soon as possible.
When called to duty, CISAR members are required to return to their base in a northern suburb of Beijing immediately and wait for further orders.
Besides the China Earthquake Administration, the team’s members are mainly from the military and the armed police force.
Researchers and managerial staff from the China Earthquake Administration are responsible for operation coordination, disaster impact evaluation, technical guidance and daily logistics work. Most rescue personnel are from an engineering corps of the People’s Liberation Army, while the General Hospital of the Armed Police Force dispatches medical workers.
While CISAR members all work regular jobs, they are constantly on alert and prepared to set off on a rescue mission at home or abroad within an hour after notification.
At the CISAR’s headquarters, supplies such as rescue equipment, water and foods are stored in separate boxes. Upon receiving an order, the items will be transported to the airport. Team members do not need to bother with gathering supplies. All they need to do is rush to the airport when called upon.
Survivors are generally found in the first seven days following an earthquake or most other natural disasters, which is called the“golden rescue time.” The CISAR usually carries seven to 10 days of supplies, including water, food, generators and various types of tents, for overseas missions, so that they are self-sufficient.
To operate efficiently, the CISAR needs support from a number of government agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Civil Aviation Administration of China. A coordinating mechanism was set up immediately after the CISAR was founded. When a disaster strikes, each of these agencies plays a role.
Good communication with these agencies enables the CISAR to respond to disasters quickly. Take the 2010 Haiti earth-

quake rescue mission for example. “From the moment we received the message, it took us only 3.5 hours to get ready,” Song said.“Fifteen tons of supplies were ready to go in a little over three hours, and 33 hours later, we arrived at the disaster area that is about 10,000 km away from Beijing.” Armed to the teeth
China is an earthquake-prone country. Rapid urbanization comes with increased population density and property concentration, making disasters more damaging.
“In the past, rescues were performed using simple tools and techniques which are no longer adequate to deal with rescue work in modern cities,” Yin said.
“From its inception, the CISAR aimed to be on par with the rescue teams of developed countries,” he said.
Before equipping the CISAR, the China Earthquake Administration carefully studied the equipment used by foreign rescue teams. It bought internationally advanced search, rescue, communication and medical equipment for the CISAR, including portable equipment carried by team members, logistics and supply equipment and sniffer dogs.
The CISAR’s equipment is the best there is. The team uses light-weight cutting sheers that are strong enough to cut steel with a diameter of 30 mm and plate-sized air cushions that can lift objects weighing as much as a ton. Its maritime satellite workstations keep team members in the field in touch with commanding agencies.
“Three types of life detectors are used by CISAR members in the search and rescue process,” said Wang Zhiqiu, an official with the China Earthquake Administration. One is a pliable snake-like pipe with a tiny video camera on its tip. The soft pipe can get into finger-sized holes and twist freely in small openings, sending pictures back. Team members said it is like a gastroscope for rubble. It can locate buried people and show the “landscape” around the victims.
Another detector identifies the sounds made by trapped people. The device has six vibration sensors and uses echolocation to pinpoint survivors. Even if a survivor can no longer speak, as long as he or she can make any tiny sound, such as knocking something with fingers, the sound can be “heard.” In theory the detector can sense even a survivor’s faintly beating heart.
The third type of detector is a radar that sends electro-magnetic signals into the rubble. The signals reveal whether or not targets within the rubble are still moving.
The CISAR also has state-of-the-art rescue robots at its disposal. Developed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, these robots can do the work of human rescuers especially

in areas where there is a high risk of after shocks and further collapse.
These advanced machines were used after the powerful earthquake in Yushu County, Qinghai Province, on April 14, 2010. On one occasion, rescue robots detected traces of life under the rubble and four hours later, four survivors were rescued, while no one was hurt during the operation.
Advanced equipment needs experienced and professional operators to be effective.
“While hi-tech equipment is indispensable, people with their judgments, experience and expertise are instrumental,” Wang said.
In the eyes of Wang Hongguo, the CISAR’s head, the strength of his rescue team is not simply a matter of its cutting-edge equipment, but rather true dedication rooted in the team’s people-oriented philosophy.
“Being people-oriented is fundamental to a rescue team. As long as there is a slim chance, we must not give up. We must do our best to get people out,” Wang Hongguo said.
The CISAR does not only want to save lives as soon as possible, but also in the safest and most effective way.
It was reported in Dujiangyan Hospital after the Wenchuan earthquake, a rescue team was attempting to pull an old man, whose left hand and leg were pinned down by a heavy beam, out from the rubble. After hours of efforts, desperate team members decided to amputate the crushed limbs. However, at this critical moment, CISAR members arrived. They sized up the situation and made a painstaking effort to save the survivor’s life and limbs. Three hours later, they succeeded in releasing the man without resorting to amputation.
The CISAR breaks its operations down into three steps. First members evaluate a disaster’s impact and define a work area, then they gather information on likely survivor locations by speaking to local residents and using sniffer dogs and life detectors. Finally they work to extract survivors.
“At times of life and death, the devil is in the details,” said Wang Nianfa, a veteran team member who has been on all but one of CISAR’s overseas operations in the past decade.
Grueling training
At the foot of Fenghuang Ridge in Beijing’s western suburbs, there is a disaster zone. Wrecked buildings are tilted, exposing the steel structure inside. Rubble is piled up like hills, the cars are smashed and roads are clogged.
This is the CISAR’s training ground—a 13-hecture field covered by debris.
The training base was built in 2008 and cost 210 million yuan ($32.63 million). The base is the first of its kind in China, said Wu Jianchun, Director of the National Earthquake Response Support Service.
“We have a vibrant team of experienced instructors and internationally advanced facilities,” Wu said.
At least twice a year, CISAR members, including military personnel, seismological experts and medical workers, gather at this“disaster scene” to receive training. During a two- to four-week training period, they take mandatory courses in a range of fields including medical treatment, demolition, forcing entry and communication.
“The training center’s extremely realis-

tic disaster scenes are created by controlled explosions and architects who design special wrecks,” said Hu Jie, a senior trainer at the center.
Architects can simulate various collapsing and crushing scenarios for search and rescue training purposes, Hu said. Except for a few permanent structures representing partially collapsed buildings, many postearthquake scenes have to be designed and built according to the needs of the training courses.
A four-story building leaning at a 19-degree angle is especially eye-catching. Hu said earthquakes often tilt buildings to similar angles.
A lopsided building can make it difficult for rescuers to maintain their balance. “In 1999, after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in Taiwan, some inexperienced rescuers fell from leaning buildings,” Lu said.
The leaning building was erected to familiarize rescuers with this sort of situation. Team members used the structure to learn how to prop up or break walls and floor slabs, and transport survivors on stretchers.
To create the earthquake scenes used for training, excavators and other heavy equipment are used to move concrete slabs and rubble around. Dummies are buried in various locations for CISAR members to find and extract.
By learning how to build and dismantle ruins, rescuers practice how to save lives, said Jia Qunlin, an official with the National Earthquake Response Support Service. Trainees must go through tests in various simulated scenarios and only those passing the test can qualify for rescue missions.
In addition to its simulated disaster zone, the training base has other state-of-the-art facilities including a 17,000-square-meter teaching complex and a 4D theater. In the theater one can have a realistic experience of an earthquake: explosions and raging fires caused by gas leakage.
Pointing at the characters carved on a large stone placed in front of the training center’s gate, Hu said the CISAR’s motto is“Virtue, Wisdom and Valor.” That is to say team members should be compassionate, brave and smart at the same time, he said.
On November 12-14, 2009, CISAR members took a 36-hour exam at their training base. In the face of strong winds, heavy snow and the freezing cold, the examinees were required to dig earthquake “survivors”out from under tons of rubble.
The exam was administered by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) under the UN. The examiners were the eight members of the INSARAG expert panel and 20 plus rescue experts from several countries. The test covered a wide range of subjects. Examinees were tested on their preparedness, mobilization, operation and demobilization capacities.
This was part of the INSARAG External Classification (IEC) process, which evaluates search and rescue teams in management, logistics, search, rescue and medical capabilities. The IEC process classifies teams into light, medium and heavy teams.
The highest qualification for a search and rescue team under the UN system is heavy team. According to INSARAG Guidelines, heavy teams can carry out complex technical search and rescue missions in collapsed or compromised structures.
Heavy teams must be able to arrive at disaster-stricken areas within 48 hours, and must be able to operate around the clock for several days at two independent sites. They should be able to communicate well and work closely with the UN and the government of the disaster-stricken country.
A heavy team must meet top international standards in terms of response, search and rescue capability, equipment, hours of continuous operation and on-site coordination ability.
After 26 hours of grueling examination, CISAR members passed the test. The CISAR became one of only 12 heavy teams in the world, the second one in Asia and the only one from a developing country.
The IEC exercise that the CISAR went through was one of the most testing ones in recent years, said Toni Frisch, INSARAG’s Chairman, who witnessed the testing process. Frisch said he looked forward to CISAR playing a greater role in international search and rescue operations.
Chen Jianmin, Director of the China Earthquake Administration, said the IEC would make Chinese rescue teams more professional.
An open team
Although only 10 years old, CISAR has grown up fast, partly due to its opening-up policy.
“As soon as the equipment was in place, we began to invite domestic and foreign experts to deliver training and we also send team members to receive training abroad,”Yin said.
Since 2002, Swiss experts have been training Chinese CISAR members with the aim of building up top-level search and rescue teams that can be deployed anywhere in the world. Shortly after the CISAR was set up, Beat Kunzi, who was responsible for the Prevention and Preparedness at the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, came to Beijing to offer help. For his commitment, he was granted the 2009 Chinese Government Friendship Award, the highest honor for a foreign expert working in China.
The CISAR also sends members to receive training abroad. For instance, in December 2006, CISAR sent members to Singapore to receive training, along side of 200 or so rescuers from 37 other countries. Twelve CISAR members, led by Liu Xiangyang, the CISAR’s deputy head, got excellent scores in the training. Liu stood out among trainees with straight A’s in five courses.
The CISAR has signed agreements on joint training with several countries. Members returning from overseas training trips have spread their skills and spurred the whole team to grow.