The southern province of Guangdong now has its first air emergency center. A helicopter had its maiden flight with an emergency team on Monday. 

A helicopter owned by the Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital made a mercy dash to a mountainous region Monday, its maiden flight on the same day the air ambulance service was established.

Two sisters of the Yao minority from Liannan, aged 3 and 13, were the first patients to be transported by air to the hospital. The girls suffered severe burns to their faces and arms Sunday while playing. They were transferred to hospital in Guangzhou.

The cost would be waived as they were the first beneficiaries of the service, Tuesday's Guangzhou Daily reported.

It takes about five to six hours to drive from Liannan to Guangzhou. The helicopter took only about one hour.

The helicopter is so far the only air ambulance in Guangdong Province. The landing pad is on top of the main building of the Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital.

Costing more than 400,000 yuan (US$48,192), the 21.2m x 20.8m apron was built in accordance with international standards.

The helicopter has a maximum speed of 240 kilometers per hour, carries necessary medical equipment and is staffed by specialists trained for critical care flights.

The Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital has scheduled air ambulance flights 20 hours a day, 365 days a year. Speedy air transport and broader outreach will improve the rescue success rate of critical patients in distant places. The center at Guangdong People's Hospital is China's first institute to provide the service on a routine basis. It covers Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao, offering emergency services such as the transportation of patients, doctors and medicines.

Flying at low altitude (300 meters) patients will not experience a change of air pressure. Patients can be in the operation theater five minutes after landing. The air ambulance costs 15,000 yuan per hour.

The helicopter seats five, including the pilot, co-pilot, a doctor and a nurse, leaving room for only one other adult. The helicopter can transport more than one child, however, depending on how much they weigh.

(Shenzhen Daily & CCTV.com August 25, 2004)