Yun Peng. [Photo/Beijing bureau of China State Railway Group]
It was two days since Yun Peng, 31, helped rescue hundreds of people who were stranded on a train for two days due to flood, but his nerves were still frazzled.
Yun was working as a deputy track foreman on the Yanchi section railway in Mentougou district of Beijing.
After days of persistent rain brought by Typhoon Doksuri, many roads and houses in Beijing were damaged.
Yun Peng. [Photo/Beijing bureau of China State Railway Group]
At 4:15 pm on July 30, Yun's colleague found a subsidence under a subgrade along the Fengsha section after three rounds of inspection. After 15 hours of nonstop work, Yun and his colleagues fixed it on the next morning.
Just several hours later, Yun found that the water volume was excessive under a bridge. The rapid water was shaking the piers violently. K396 train from Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, to Beijing Fengtai Station was about to cross the bridge.
Yun called colleagues in Luopoling Railway Station immediately, asking them to call the train back to the station.
Yun Peng. [Photo/Beijing bureau of China State Railway Group]
After the train turned back to the station, a landslide occurred at a tunnel. Yun and his colleagues rushed to clean it up. But water rose to his chest in no time and rocks started falling behind them. Standing in despair, he called his wife, saying "I may not be able to come back. Please remember these names: Gao Jiaqi, Wang Dongwei, Zhang Yuan, Song Weiqiang, Lei Zhiping, Zang Le, Sun Hailiang, Yang Kang, Li Hongyan, and Wang Xiaolong. If we die here, you must tell others their names." Then he hung up.
Luckily, led by a senior colleague, they found a path not blocked by mud and rocks and escaped.
Shortly after they returned to their office, Yun received a call from Ma Ruixin, head of Luopoling Railway Station. The 980 passengers trapped in the train needed to be transferred to safe areas. Ma asked him how many people he can accommodate. Yun said at least 50. He got more than 300.
Yun Peng. [Photo/Beijing bureau of China State Railway Group]
Yun and his colleagues placed the passengers in their dormitories while they slept in the hallway and cars at the night. They took out all the food, medicine and daily necessities and gave them to the passengers.
The railway tracks were blocked by fallen rocks. Yun went with 11 colleagues there, trying to repair the tracks. There were no big machines to use, so they used their hands and shovels to clean up the mud and stones.
"We only had one thing in mind. Even though the train can't go through, we need to dig a way for them to walk out," said Yun.
[Video provided by Beijing bureau of China State Railway Group]
On Aug 1, Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau sent helicopters to carry food and daily necessities to the trapped people there. However, after the helicopters arrived at Luopoling Railway Station, Yun, who used to be a soldier, realized that the helicopters were facing difficulty on finding a landing spot. If they couldn't find a safe spot to land, the mission will be canceled. Yun rushed to his office to grab the red and yellow flags used in railways. He chose an open court with no barriers and waved to the helicopters with the flag signals he learned when he was a soldier, guiding them to land on a safe spot successfully.
Cheers from the crowd overwhelmed the roar of the helicopter and wind. The pilots gave Yun a thumb-up.
Yun Peng. [Photo/Beijing bureau of China State Railway Group]
On Aug 2, good news came. Armed police officers will lead the passengers out on foot to a temporary station, where they will board a train heading to Beijing Fengtai Station. When the time came to evacuate, some passengers were anxious. Yun walked to the leader of the armed police officers, volunteering to lead the way. "I'm familiar with the landform here. Let me walk in the front."
Finally, all the passengers walked out safely. They hugged Yun and his colleagues to express their gratitude.
Someone asked Yun, "Was it worth it?" "Of course," said Yun without any hesitation. "If I had to do it all over again, I would also rush to the front, because I am a Party member and a railway worker."
