Rescuer cancels wedding to search for survivors of Chinese ferry disaster
Crewman, 21, rescued from air pocket in hull after hours alone in complete darkness
A rescuer cancelled his wedding to save the people trapped inside the Eastern Star passenger ship.
Wang Xiaofei, a rescuer from Beijing, was called to join the rescue effort soon after the ship sank on Tuesday, just five days ahead of his wedding.
Wang didn’t hesitate to join the operation, but asked his fiancee to tell his friends about the wedding being cancelled.
“My fiancee was mad when I told her about it, and just refused to talk to me,” Wang told online portal Sina.com.
But the fiancee got over her disappointment, telling her friends and relatives on WeChat: “Saving people’s life is far more important. I hope you can understand.”
As rescue efforts entered a second day, mainland media reported extensively on the difficulties faced by rescuers and survivors of the accident. The Global Times, affiliated with People’s Daily, reported that a diver named Guan Dong nearly died when his oxygen ran out.
Guan was the diver who found crewman Chen Shuhan, 21, alone in an air pocket in inside the capsized hull, in complete darkness.
Chen, a gas fitter aboard the ferry, was checking the ship’s main engine, as the weather deteriorated outside, the Chongqing Morning Post reported.
As water began entering the boat, Chen donned a life jacket and found a spot on the deck where he could breath. After the ship capsized, everything went dark, which Chen described as terrifying.
Guan searched the hull three times in the low visibility, before he found Chen. They then spent 20 minutes trying to calm him down.
