China's large UAV supports Xizang quake rescue efforts

A Wing Loong-2 large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is examined before taking off from an airport in the city of Zigong, southwest China's Sichuan Province, March 18, 2024. (Aviation Industry Corporation of China/Handout via Xinhua)

BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Wing Loong-2H, a large civil unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), has supported rescue efforts after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region on Tuesday.

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the developer of the UAV, said on Thursday that Xizang's emergency management department deployed Wing Loong-2H to carry out disaster assessment missions in Dingri County, the epicenter, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The UAV transmitted real-time data and high-resolution images of the quake-affected areas to the emergency management department. This provided crucial support for risk identification, disaster monitoring, and targeted rescue operations, AVIC said.

It is equipped with electro-optical devices and synthetic aperture radar to obtain key information such as collapsed buildings, locations of trapped people, layouts of rescue locations and shelters, as well as the real-time distribution of ground rescue forces.

The rescue-specialized UAV model was previously deployed for disaster response in multiple emergencies such as rainstorms, earthquakes and forest fire.

The Dingri earthquake left 126 people dead and 188 others injured. A total of 407 trapped individuals have been rescued.