Special team set up to deal with Olympic-related traffic accidents

Beijing Winter Olympics organizers have set up a special dispatch team to deal with traffic accidents involving Olympic vehicles, organizers said on Tuesday.

Huang Chun, deputy director of the pandemic prevention and control office of the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, said on Tuesday that the organizers have established a complete command and control system, as well as a rescue mechanism.

In the event of a traffic accident where there are injuries, people involved should dial the emergency number 120 immediately. They should report that the accident involved an Olympic vehicle, and the operator will send a special team to handle it.

Beijing has arranged 30 ambulances around the sports venues in the city and 20 around the Zhangjiakou competition zone. Once the call is made, emergency professionals will arrive at the scene promptly to treat the injured, Huang said.

He also stressed that members of the public should not approach the scene of an accident or crowd around.

"Accident handling will be completed through fast channels to ensure the safety of all people as soon as possible," he added.

The committee’s traffic department said it has formulated a thorough plan and rehearsed the process for handling traffic accidents. All rescue and treatment of public vehicles and the injuries will be handled in accordance with the plan, under which the public should have no contact with Olympic-related vehicles.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which kick offs on Feb 4, follows a strict closed-loop operation that limits Games-related personnel to a few fixed venues with no access to the outside world in order to prevent the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Games participants will be transported in designated vehicles.

The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau said Sunday that Olympic vehicles will be labeled with a special red sign, and citizens should keep their distance and avoid contact with a vehicle and its occupants if an accident occurs.