Based in Beijing, the rescue flight could cover Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Mongolia and Singapore, according to the China Daily Wednesday.

Through a 24-hour hotline patients will be picked no more than a couple of hours from a major city.

China's largest business jet charter company, Deer Jet, is providing a Hawker 800XP aeroplane fitted with advanced medical equipment which enable doctors to treat and stabilize patients whilst in transit.

The service will mean the difference between life and death for those suffering medical emergencies in remote areas, according to Dr. Pascal Rey Herme, one of the founders of International SOS.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2003)