Poisoned couple rescued by emergency call dispatcher

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An emergency dispatcher’s active call, which lasted for 46 minutes, saved the lives of a couple suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning in their rented house on Jan. 13.

It happened in the Pulandian District of Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

It was after eight o’clock in the evening when dispatcher Jiang Linping took the call from the almost unconscious wife.

“My husband and I fell sick now. I’m dizzy,” the woman at the other end of the line whispered.

“Where is your exact location? Have you been exposed to poison gas? Have you suddenly become sick? Are there any children?” Having worked as a dispatcher for almost a decade, Jiang was able to make quick judgments.

“We’re lying on the bed. I can’t move now,” the woman answered.

The woman gave a rough location and her landlord’s name but no more information.

Jiang Linping answers the emergency hotline. /CCTV Photo

Jiang made a judgment call and reported to her superior, Qu Aijun, director of the emergency center, that the couple were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Qu then locate the couple with the help of the local police and led a first-aid team to where the woman lives in Tangfang Village. Twenty minutes later, the first-aid team and the police started door-to-door checks in the neighborhood.

While the search was ongoing, Jiang kept talking to the woman online. She repeatedly exclaimed, “Don’t give up! Talk to me!” even when there was no answer.

Although she knew the house owner’s name, it is shared by nine other people who live in the area, making it hard to find the couple. After another twenty minutes, Jiang heard the rattling of the door at the other end of the line.

“I hear the knocking! Yes, we found them,” she told Qu in another call. Jiang was so excited that she almost jumped from her chair.

The rescued couple are being interviewed. /CCTV Photo

The couple were found in a coma. It was caused by the carbon monoxide produced by burning fuel coal. Thanks to the timely rescue, they are both out of danger and expected to make a full recovery.

Carbon monoxide is produced by fuel-burning household appliances that, when not properly ventilated, can allow the gas to build up. The couple had been cooking by a coal-fueled stove when the accident happened.

After the recording of the call got released online, many netizens expressed their respect to the emergency officials and praised Jiang for her impressively long and life-saving call.