How were two pilots searched and rescued in the jungle?

The rescue of two pilots in a training plane crash in Binh Dinh could not have been carried out quickly without the assistance of technology.

Mr. Nguyen Quang An (left) - technical staff at Viettel Binh Dinh - and the team participated in the search and rescue work.

In the rugged mountainous terrain, with vast trees, searching based on conventional methods and means becomes impossible.

Determining that rescue work required quick response, after receiving the report, Viettel Network Corporation mobilized all engineers and experts in the core network and radio fields of the Technical Center of Region 2 to participate in the mission.

Maximum signal boost to save people

The team immediately analyzed the subscription history, predicted the route, and identified the broadcasting stations near the landing area of ​​the two pilots.

However, the landing site of both is deep in the primeval forest, the terrain is hidden, there are many valleys, making the task of determining the location challenging. At this time, the plan to adjust the antenna and increase the power of the broadcasting stations was considered.

On one hand, the technical team used remote control technology to make changes, on the other hand, a team of district staff from Viettel Binh Dinh was sent to directly adjust the hardware on the antenna at the designated stations. After adjusting, the team continued to push, increase the maximum transmission capacity of the stations, using low frequency bands to enhance coverage.

The antenna's transmitting power is increased four times, the transmitting antenna angle is adjusted to expand the station's coverage area by 5-7 times, from a radius of 1.5-2 km to 7-8 km, while 4G coverage covers the surrounding high mountainous areas.

Normally, signal boosting is only used in emergency situations such as rescue and relief.

The area where the two pilots decided to parachute is in Binh Loc village, Binh Hoa commune, Tay Son district, Binh Dinh province.

Through analysis, the Viettel team determined that the two pilots landed in two different directions, so they had to continuously adjust to find the broadcasting station with the signal. After about 15-20 minutes from the time the team adjusted, the first good news was returned, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Quan - one of the two pilots - was able to contact the unit by mobile phone, at about 4:30 p.m. the same day.

Meanwhile, finding Colonel Nguyen Van Son's location was more difficult because his landing site was hidden deep inside, and the signal was difficult to reach due to the obstruction of many trees and rocks. After many attempts to navigate the coverage area and continuously call Colonel Son's phone, the technical team finally received a response signal at 6:45 p.m.

From these calls, Viettel's technical team continued to instruct the two pilots to use 4G data waves to send coordinates back to the unit. At the scene, the rescue team quickly came up with a plan to organize a rescue approach.

Timely rescue thanks to familiarity with the terrain

Mr. Nguyen Quang An, an employee of Viettel Binh Dinh branch, directly joined the search team as soon as he received the order. Mr. An used to be a technical staff at Tay Son - Vinh Thanh cluster, specializing in installing broadcasting stations in mountainous areas, so he was familiar with the terrain.

Viettel Group Chairman - Major General Tao Duc Thang called An, assigning him the task of following the determined coordinates to rescue the victim as soon as possible. Receiving the call, An was both surprised and honored. Understanding the assigned responsibility, he was determined and ready to set off, going deep into the mountainous area.

Positioning from Viettel's system helps rescue units determine the location of 2 pilots in the military plane crash in Binh Dinh

As a navigator, every 20-30m, An checked the coordinates to make sure the group was going in the right direction. Because in the dark, the forest path was already dense and difficult to travel, and there was heavy rain, strong winds, and slippery rocks.

At around 8:00 p.m. the same day, Lieutenant Colonel Quan was found on a mountain in the Ham Ho area, Tay Phu commune, Tay Son district, about 10 km from the parachute drop zone.

Sharing more about the rescue process, Mr. An said: After finding Lieutenant Colonel Quan, the whole team was exhausted, most of the phones they brought were out of battery, the team considered letting another team come in to rescue Mr. Son.

But when checking the coordinates, they discovered that Mr. Son was not far away, about 600m, so the whole team was determined to rescue him. One group was divided to take Mr. Quan out of the forest, while another group continued to search for Mr. Son.

Although on the map, Mr. Son's hiding place was very close, in reality, it took the rescue team two more hours to reach the correct location. The mountain road was slippery due to heavy rain, the whole team had to grope around in the dark, many times slipping and falling or crawling, clinging to the ground. The raincoats they brought were almost torn by the trees, some had to take them off and continue walking in the rain.

"We told ourselves we didn't want to make Mr. Son wait any longer, and we didn't know if he was injured anywhere, so we encouraged each other to keep going," Mr. An recounted.

All efforts were rewarded when at around 10:20 p.m., the rescue team found Colonel Son. As they neared the location, everyone started calling out Son's name. The moment they heard the pilot's voice respond, the whole team burst into tears and ran towards the source of the sound.

After nearly eight hours of walking in the rain and deep into the rugged rocky mountains, the rescue team completed their mission.

"My daily work gave me some experience in the area's terrain and how the stations deep in the mountains operate. But this time crossing the mountains and forests was truly memorable because the whole team had to wade through the forest in heavy rain, with no trails to follow. When I rescued both of them, I was really happy, forgetting all the hardships," An said.

Leaving the forest at midnight, the mission completed, the whole team returned safely at dawn on November 7.

According to a representative of Viettel Group, the task of ensuring communication in natural disaster prevention and rescue is one of Viettel's important annual tasks. From participating in storm and flood response campaigns, such as the landslide in Lang Nu (Lao Cai) during storm Yagi in September, Viettel's technical team has gained a lot of experience in handling and finding solutions in the shortest time.

The technical staff's familiarity with the terrain characteristics and station design in mountainous, remote and isolated areas also plays an important and decisive role. In particular, the design of mobile stations is calculated so that in addition to ensuring 4G waves for residents, it also ensures the widest coverage for inter-district and inter-provincial routes and rescue situations.

Major General Vu Hong Son - Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Air Defense - Air Force sent his sincere thanks to Viettel and other units for their coordination and efforts to bring the two pilots back safely as soon as possible.

Lieutenant General Pham Truong Son - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army highly appreciated this rescue work.

"Using many technical measures, the units have calculated every detail, found the location of the two pilots to deploy search forces in the most reasonable way.

Heavy rain, strong winds, fast-flowing rivers, deep forests, and steep mountains, but the forces quickly brought our comrades home in very complex weather conditions," Lieutenant General Pham Truong Son said.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hai-phi-cong-duoc-tim-kiem-giai-cuu-giua-rung-ram-nhu-the-nao-20241108155719325.htm