China has developed and produced its own set of devices for searching for living people trapped in buildings toppled by earthquakes and landslides.

The devices, made by the Sichuan Provincial Seismological Bureau, recently passed a technical appraisal jointly organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the China Seismological Bureau.

The set is made up of an optical instrument, a sound pulsator and an infrared thermal imaging system.

Peng Jinchuan, a senior engineer of the Sichuan Provincial Seismological Bureau in southwest China, said the three devices have their respective functions. The optical instrument serves as an eye working in a dark underground level, the sound pulsator as an ear which can hear voices a long way off, while the infrared thermal imaging system is a perspective mirror.

While searching for living people confined in rubble, a rescuer may use a detector which can turn around with the maximum angle of 127 degrees. If it is not long enough, the detector can be connected with an adjustable pole which is capable of going eight meters into the rubble. The sound and picture shot by the detector can be transmitted to a palm computer.

The devices will be put into trial use in China in March. Each set of equipment will cost 300,000 to 400,000 yuan (US$36,144-48,192), compared with 500,000 yuan (US$60,240) for the imported ones.

Statistics showed earthquake victims can live for 72 hours on average in debris. With prompt detection, the number of deaths from earthquakes could be significantly reduced.

The devices will help reduce blindness in rescue and find victims in the shortest possible period, said Chen Weifeng, director of the disaster reduction and relief institute of the Sichuan Provincial Seismological Bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2004)