‘China’s real-life transformer’: new rescue tech used in dramatic flood evacuation

It is part-boat, part-bridge and part-life raft – and in the massive floods in southern China, it has been all rescue vehicle.

The foldable, self-propelled pontoon barge has emerged as a powerful new tool in the response to the disaster, used to rescue thousands of people trapped by rising waters in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

One of the biggest rescue operations took place last week at the Guangxi Logistics Vocational and Technical College in Guigang, where more than 6,000 staff and...