Team leader Hou still didn't give up and asked the pilot to use the onboard communication system to call Shen Lan's mobile phone, but the result was still the same.
The trapped people could not be found, and the weather also became bad. What was originally a simple rescue operation turned out to be like this, which made Team Leader Hou speechless.
He is good at everything, but he is a bit obsessed with success. He likes to have the media report on everything he does. It's fine when things are going smoothly, but if he encounters any situation, such as now, it will be a little bad.
These light rains have not yet had much impact on the helicopter's flight, but according to the meteorological station's forecast, it will soon turn into a thunderstorm, which will be dangerous then.
At this time, someone opened the door of the helicopter and looked down from high in the sky.
Everyone immediately looked out, only to see light raindrops floating in the air, covering the mountains of the Li River below the helicopter, giving it a special sense of beauty.
However, no one is in the mood to appreciate this beautiful scenery. This rain is beautiful, but for the current situation, it is simply fatal.
We knew clearly that the Yingzui Mountain was below us, and we also knew that the trapped people were in the Yingzui Mountain. However, because the visibility was too low and the bad weather affected the communication signals, we could not find the trapped people at all at this time. This feeling It's so disempowering.
"With the terrain here, if it turns into a thunderstorm, there might be flash floods, right?"
Zhang Zimeng hesitated and said.
The mountains here in Yangshuo County are all stone mountains with poor water storage capacity, so flash floods can easily occur when it rains.
If a flash flood breaks out, not to mention the traveler hanging on the cliff, even Shen Lan on the ground will be in danger.
"Yes, that's right, the meteorological department also said so. According to the predicted rainfall, flash floods are very likely to occur."
The pilot looked a little nervous and said.
"In this case, human lives are at stake. We still have two hours... Let's do our best."
Team leader Hou looked a little ugly, but still ordered to go down and said: "Visibility is low, then try to lower the altitude as much as possible and search around Yingzui Mountain."
The pilot was a little helpless, shook his head and said: "Leader, there is a high-voltage line across the mountain here. At this height, if it hits the high-voltage line, all of us on the plane will be in danger!"
The high-voltage wires across the mountain are too thin. Flying at this altitude is like dancing on the tip of a knife. When the wires are clearly seen, it may be difficult to reflect.
Especially now that the visibility is low, the pilot has even less time to react.
"Is this the lowest possible height?"
Team Leader Hou looked down, only to see a vast expanse of white below. He could barely see the mountains and forests below, but it was simply too difficult to find a person in this situation.
"If it were this difficult, I'm afraid there would be no way to carry out the search..."
Another lifeguard on the plane said with a troubled look on his face.
As lifeguards, they have received professional training such as rappelling, and their eyesight must be above 5.2. With their eyesight, they cannot see the trapped people on the ground, let alone others.
"Is there no other way?"
Team leader Hou was a little anxious and asked quickly.
The lifeguard shook his head and said helplessly: "Unless it is a military helicopter with an infrared heat detector, it can use the infrared heat detector to search for people on the ground, but our helicopters do not have this equipment."
Infrared detectors can detect the heat emitted by animals on the ground and are particularly useful at night and in low visibility conditions.
"If you don't have one, you can borrow it. Contact the n city emergency center and ask for one of these devices to be brought over!"
Team Leader Hou said anxiously.
Due to the sudden change in weather, the situation has deteriorated rapidly, making it impossible to carry out search operations.
If the rescue fails and there is no way to rescue people before the flash flood breaks out, then the rescue fails. If there are casualties, it will undoubtedly push the rescue operation to the forefront.
"It's too late. We only have two hours now. One trip is not enough."
The pilot shook his head and said helplessly: "Go back, team leader, it's useless for us to circle around here."
While they were talking, they had already circled Yingzui Mountain several times, but they didn't see anyone at all.
As time went by, the rain outside became heavier and heavier, which made the search more difficult.
"There is no other way... we can only return!"
Just when everyone was extremely anxious, Nie Cai pointed out the window of the helicopter and said, "From their description, it seems that it should be in that direction. I feel that I should be able to find someone if I drive that way!"
Nie Cai's eyesight was sharp. Through the light rain and fog, he suddenly saw a brightly colored hanging tent hanging on the rock wall, which should be where Ruan Ling was.
It's just that his eyesight is so amazing that it's not something normal people can possess at all. He couldn't say it directly at this time, so he could only make an excuse.
"There?"
The pilot looked in the direction Nie Cai pointed, only to find that the location was completely white. He couldn't see anything except a high-voltage transmission tower on the mountain.
His tone was a little hesitant, and he said: "There seems to be nothing over there, and it looks like a high-voltage telegraph pole across the mountain. It may be dangerous if you approach rashly."
If it weren't for Nie Cai's reporter's sake, the pilot would probably have cursed loudly.
Didn’t you know that high-voltage power lines are the biggest threat to helicopters? Isn’t it risky to drive there in this kind of weather
If no one is found trapped, it's worth taking the risk, but it's completely white outside. Which way do you want the helicopter to go just based on your feeling
He had just seen several high-voltage power line towers here from the air. When he arrived at this location, he deliberately raised the height to avoid the dangerous area.
"The trapped people must be there. If they don't get over, they will die in the flash flood!"
Nie Cai became a little anxious and said: "We are here to rescue, not just to go around twice and take some news shots and then leave!"
"Comrade reporter, I am responsible for the safety of the plane and the safety of the passengers on the plane. There is no way to approach that place. It must be kept at an altitude of more than 200 meters to be safe."
The pilot hesitated a little, looked at Team Leader Hou next to him, and said.
There is a central leader like Team Leader Hou on the plane. If the plane crashes, he cannot bear the responsibility at all. He will not take the risk at all.
"You don't need to be responsible, I'll be responsible, okay?"
Nie Cai was so anxious that he almost yelled.
He clearly knew that the person was over there, but the pilot did not dare to get close because he was afraid of danger.
If we don't hurry up and save people now, we won't have time when the rain gets heavy.
"Okay, stop arguing..."
Team leader Hou was helpless and said in a hoarse voice: "Reporter Nie, if we can be sure that the person is there, it doesn't matter if we take a risk. But now we are not even sure, and we don't know if it is worth taking the risk."
As the commander of this operation, he certainly hopes to find the trapped people and successfully complete the rescue mission.
But if the helicopter is in danger, the responsibility will be even greater, let alone the risk of descending if he can't even find anyone, which is simply unacceptable to him.
"Are you sure that person is over there?"
As if he remembered something, Nie Cai's heart suddenly moved.
He simply picked up the camera, stood in front of the helicopter's hatch, locked the position of the tent on the rock wall with his keen vision, and then captured it with the lens of the camera.
This time Nie Cai was holding a shoulder-mounted camera from the station, using a large zoom lens with a long zoom distance. Through the light rain and fog, he could barely see a colorful tent above.
Nie Cai pulled up the footage captured by the camera. This time with the video as evidence, Nie Cai became more confident in speaking and said confidently: "There is a colorful tent on the rock wall, and the trapped people are there. ."
"Really, you can see this?"
Team leader Hou said in amazement that even under the large zoom lens of the camera, the appearance of the tent was blurry. If you look at it with the naked eye, you can't see any trace at all.
I don’t know how Nie Cai discovered the location of this tent. Is it just a coincidence
However, he was surprised and quickly ordered the pilot to descend slowly.
This time the pilot had no choice but to fly over there, slow down, and land slowly.
As the height slowly decreased, the situation on the ground gradually became clearer. One could even see a person on the ground desperately waving a piece of bright red cloth. Nie Cai's eyesight was sharp and he recognized it at a glance. The person above is none other than Shen Lan!
"Trapped personnel found!"
At this time, Team Leader Hou could clearly see the figures asking for help on the ground, and he couldn't help but said in surprise: "Get down to the ground quickly and rescue the trapped people!"
"No, leader, there is no place nearby to land. The most we can do is hover in the air and use ropes to rescue them."
The helicopter pilot shook his head and said with a wry smile.
It wasn't that he was afraid of death this time, but that he really had no choice.
In Hollywood blockbusters, helicopters are said to be capable of flying up to the sky and into the ground, and stunts such as hovering on one foot are even easier to do. In reality, helicopters are not so good at all.
Generally speaking, when a helicopter lands, it needs an open space the size of a playground, with no obstacles such as trees around, or at the very least, a road or the like.
However, there is no flat place in this kind of barren mountains. The only feasible method is to hover in the air and have the lifeguards descend with ropes. After fixing the trapped people, they can be lifted up by elevator.