One of the worst hit regions in the epicentre of the earthquake. The mountainous terrain, coupled with poor weather, has made the rescue operation extremely difficultFollowing the earthquake in Sichuan Province on Monday 12 May, the Chinese government has launched its biggest rescue and relief operation in decades, with over 140,000 military personnel, police officers and rescue/medical workers mobilised. Here is some information on the mobilisation of the military forces I gathered from public sources.
At 14:28 local time on Monday 12 May, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struke part of Sichuan Province. Officials estimate the death toll will reach 50,000, with 10 million people affected.
Two hours after the earthquake, a specialised disaster rescue team consisting of 150 rescue workers, 22 medical staff and 10 search and rescue dogs were loaded into two PLAAF IL-76MD jet transports at the Nanyuan Airport in Beijing. At the same time, over 6,000 troops in the Chengdu Military Region (MR) were mobilised. A command centre for the rescue operation was set up, with the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao heading the rescue operation.
Few hours after the earthquake, the two major civil airports near the epicentre--Mianyang Airport (MIG) and Chengdu Airport (CTU)—were taken over by the military for rescue operations. Most scheduled flights to the two airports were redirected to other cities nearby. After restoring some equipments damaged by the earthquake, the two airports resumed normal operation, ready to accept aircraft delivering rescue personnel and cargoes. The two military airports in Chengdu City--Taipingsi and Fenghuangshan airports—were also soon used for the rescue operation.
A PLAAF IL-76MD jet transport at the Mianyang Airport, delivering military troops and materials to the disaster zone
As the roads and bridges were severely damaged by the earthquake, four counties in the epicentre of the earthquake were completely cut off with the outside world. The rescue operation was hampered by the bad weather and the mountainous terrain of the region. The PLA made two unsuccessful attempts to land a helicopter into the epicentre. An attempt to drop paratroopers into the epicentre was also given up. The rescue troops were ordered to enter the disaster zone by foot. Some troops had reached the outskirt of the epicentre by the midnight. At 11:40 on 13 May, a medical team and 1,300 infantry troops finally reached Wenchan County. Throughout the day, more troops began to reach the county for rescue operation.
Troops from various emergency services arrive at the Mianyang Airport
By the early morning of 13 May, 5,000 troops from the 127th Mechanised Infantry Division in the Jinan MR assembled at the Luoyang Airport in Henan Province. At the same time, 6,420 paratroopers from the 15th Airborne Corps assembled at two airports in Kaifeng, Henan Province and Wuhan, Hubei Province. From 08:00 local time on 13 May, the PLA carried out the biggest airlift operation in its history. In less than 24 hours, a total of 22 military transports and 12 civil airliners carried out 79 flight missions to transport these troops from their assembly points to the four airports near Chengdu. More troops from the Jinan Military Region arrived in the disaster zone by road and railway. The 2nd Army Aviation Regiment (Chengdu MR) sent its helicopters to take part in the rescue operation.
As certain parts of the epicentre was still unreachable from the ground, the PLA made a new attempt to drop troops from air. An IL-76MD carrying 100 paratroopers from the elite Special Force Group of the 15th Airborne Corps took off from Chengdu at 11:24 on 14 May. At 11:47, an advance team of fifteen paratroopers left the aircraft at 4,999m altitude and employed ‘square’ ram-air parachutes to safely land in Maoxian County. However, after their landing, the team reported to the headquarters using maritime satellite phone that the weather and local terrain were too dangerous for the rest 85 paratroopers to land as they were only equipped with conventional round parachutes. The landing operation was subsequently cancelled. The advance team stayed in Maoxiao County to provide key communication with the headquarters and co-ordination for the airdrop of supplies by air force aircraft.
An advance team of 15 men from the PLA 15th Airborne Corps were dropped to the epicentre from 4,999m altitute on 14 MayBy 15 May, a total of 100,000 PLA and PAP troops were deployed in the rescue operation. These troops were from a number of service branches and arms, including ground forces of the Chengdu MR and Jinan MR, airborne forces, PLA Navy Marine Corps, PLA Second Artillery Corps, PAP Internal Guards, PAP Fire Fighting Corps, PAP Hydropower Corps, and PAP Forestry Corps. The Shenyang and Beijing MR have dispatched a number of specialised rescue and medical teams to the disaster zone. The Lanzhou MR sent 3,000 troops in Southern Gansu to help the local people affected by the earthquake. Over 100 military and civil aviation helicopters were deployed in the rescue operation.
A S-70C Black Hawk helicopter of the 2nd Army Aviation Regiment delivers supplies to the earthquake refugees
