Rescue in the city   Members of Ho Chi Minh City rescue team are on a working trip in river.Tuoi Tre City rescuers constantly face unexpected circumstances that may be once-in-a-lifetime incidents, but require rescuers to have experience in all sorts of dangerous environments. Part 1: Vietnam rescue teams risk their lives to save others Part 2: Valuable consultations from ‘amateur rescuers’ Part 3: Rescue ships need to be ‘rescued’ Part 4: Life-and-death flight for rescue in flood season Part 5: Rescue in the city Unlike maritime rescue, which mainly takes place at sea, city rescuers face calamities in varied environments including water, fire, and high altitude. They must face various dangerous situations such as rescue missions in collapsed houses, rescuing victims of multiple bee stings, and negotiating with individuals to prevent suicide attempts. Rescue from bees Half-finished construction sites in districts 9, 2, and Can Gio of Ho Chi Minh City have been common “working sites” of city rescuers after bees come to build their nests there. Children and passers-by have fallen victim to the bees after their nests were somehow provoked. “We rescued a female teacher and several people on the street who were bitten by thousands of wasps,” said Nguyen Ngoc Tot, a member of the HCMC rescue team. “It was a special lesson for us in how to cope with bees.” “Our safety solution was to spray narcotics,” he added. “Rescuers were covered by protective suits but it was not completely safe as some members were still stung by bees. Injuries were swollen for many days.” Rescuers are sometimes misled by wrong information. On a late evening, the rescue team was informed that a couple was arguing on a bridge and that the man jumped into the river in a suicide attempt. Rescuers arrived at the scene and organized a diving team to search for the man from 21:00pm to 7:00am the following morning. Later, a local newspaper published a story reporting that the man who jumped into the river safely swam to the riverbank and went home, a rescuer named Tuan recalled. Tot admitted that his team has been sent to save hundreds of cases of drowning a year but only one rescue attempt resulted in the person’s survival, while all other cases involved searching for the lifeless bodies of the suicide victims.   Rescuers prepare for diving in Saigon River (Photo: Tuoi Tre) Dangerous rivers Swimming in rivers in the city seems safe to many residents but for rescuers, rivers pose a great hazard that may claim their lives at anytime, said a rescuer. Rescuers do not swim on the top of the river but dive deep to the bottom to search for human bodies or objects involved in criminal cases. While searching the river bottoms, rescuers may touch unexploded bombs and mines left there. The river bottom is also one of the ‘burial places’ of metal pieces and broken bottles that local residents thoughtlessly throw in. One minute of preparation Rescuers on duty have only one minute to prepare and board rescue vehicles to rush to the scene after receiving an alarm. Once awakened by the alarm, rescuers immediately sit up, leave their beds, rush to dress, and run towards their rescue vehicles. Those sleeping on higher floors will slip down metal poles, not stairs, to run to their vehicles. While the vehicles speed towards the scene, rescuers don their protective suits. Each vehicle carries ten rescuers. The HCMC rescue team has over 100 members. To be able to meet strict health criterion for the job, each rescuer has to train hard everyday. Their workout regime includes swimming six kilometers per day.   Divers search for the body of a victim in Saigon River (Photo: Tuoi Tre) TUOI TRE