Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 338 On-site Standoff
Wang Ping never expected that this young reporter, whom he had only met once, would now be advising him against holding a press conference in front of so many leaders.

I felt a little touched.

He paused, startled, and looked intently into the young female reporter's earnest eyes before shaking his head and saying solemnly:

"This accident is too serious, and public opinion is extremely unfavorable to the spacecraft department. I have very limited information, the preparations were rushed, and on top of that, it was going to be broadcast live, so I really didn't have much confidence."

However, as the spokesperson, I still need to give an explanation to the media and the public.

After saying that, he smiled calmly and walked towards the press conference venue next door.

In a short while, almost everyone in the command post had left.

Chen Shu and Director Wang led the group toward the accident site.

Zhang Yang, ever the friendly fellow, followed along.

Chen Shu asked, "Aren't you a reporter? Why aren't you at the press conference over there?"

Zhang Yang chuckled, "Xiao Zhao saved me a seat. The press conference doesn't start for another hour, and it'll be too boring to just sit there now. By the way, what are you guys going to do now?"

After a night of mental turmoil, Chen Shu's face was somewhat dry.

He casually wiped his face and said, "The large crane is here. It's going to lift the carriages off the bridge. Director Wang and I will go take a look."

Chen Shu explained to Zhang Yang.

He had previously participated in rescue operations on the overpass and knew there was still a small area behind the car to search. Although his firefighter teammates said there was little chance of finding a solution, he still felt a vague sense of unease.

Knowing that Director Wang was a veteran traffic policeman who had spent half his life dealing with traffic accidents and had a wealth of experience, they invited him to come and take a look.

The place wasn't far, but there were quite a few mud pits on the road. It took the three of them five or six minutes to get there, wading through the mud.

They happened to witness a field commander from the spacecraft department issuing an order to lift the most severely damaged tail section of the ship from the viaduct to the ground.

Upon hearing this, Director Wang, who had many years of experience in traffic accidents, privately told Chen Shu, "In such major traffic accidents, the ship should not be moved easily as long as the rescue operation is not over, otherwise it could easily cause secondary injuries to people who may be inside the cabin."

Zhang Yang pointed to the two huge cranes under the bridge and exclaimed, "Those kinds of cranes can easily crush a living person to death with a single clamping motion of their mechanical arms."

Director Wang added, "It's more likely that someone will slip out of the cabin. Falling from such a height is extremely dangerous."

Chen Shu recalled that he had searched the collapsed stern cabin with the firefighters and felt that there might still be life there.

He explained the situation to Director Wang, and the two of them went to the commander of the spacecraft department to express their ideas, proposing to first lift away the aft cabin that was pressing on the stern cabin, and then let the search and rescue personnel conduct another search on the bridge.

The on-site commander was a deputy director of the Spacecraft Department. Although both he and Director Wang were "deputy directors," there was a significant difference in their administrative ranks.

Seeing that I was from the public security department, the other party spoke politely, explaining that the ministry's order was for the track to be open by 6 PM that evening. This timeframe had also been announced to the national media, so now it was a race against time to repair the track.

"Brother, I already spoke with the fire chief in charge of the search and rescue, and he clearly stated that there are no survivors inside. If we follow your plan of hoisting one cabin from the bridge and then searching the other, we definitely won't be able to open the road by 6 PM. Besides, it's not that we're not going to search; we're just hoisting the cabin down to the bridge and then searching there. This way, we can do both the search and rescue work and the road reopening work without any problems!"
We are all professionals in accident rescue, and this is the standard procedure for handling accidents nationwide, so you can rest assured.

When the other party mentioned the fire chief, Chen Shu was reminded of what the fire squad leader who had been searching for him on the bridge had said.

"The idea of ​​authority is unacceptable; it can be deadly."

The words are still ringing in my ears!
Seeing that Chen Shu was about to argue again, Director Wang pulled him aside and whispered, "Chen Shu, in principle, the spacecraft department is the main force in emergency rescue and relief for these kinds of accidents on the spacecraft line. We're just helping out. Besides, their rank is what it is, and they've already been very polite to us."

Chen Shu was somewhat angry, but there was nothing he could do.

After all, this is their territory, and regardless of administrative level or jurisdiction, their local police really have no say in it.

Although the Spacecraft Department is only a department involved in a single mode of transportation, it is actually a heavyweight administrative unit that can directly participate in national ministerial-level deliberations.

Nationwide transportation authority and enormous financial resources ensured that the spacecraft department could form a closed and independent system, complete with public security, procuratorate, courts, hospitals, and universities.

For example, Director Wang and Chen Shu were within the Dongzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau's staff, meaning they were under the jurisdiction of the local public security bureau; while the Spaceship Department had its own public security bureau, directly under its management. In simpler terms, these were the early days of industry police, operating under separate management lines from the local public security bureau, with neither having jurisdiction over the other.

When the two policemen who had come over fell silent, the on-site commander of the spacecraft department turned back and began directing the crane to start working again.

Zhang Yang, who was standing on the side, was a journalist by training. Unlike the police who were under semi-military management and whose duty was to obey, he still possessed a certain adventurous spirit and independent personality.

She hadn't missed any of Chen Shu and Director Wang's discussion about the accident; she remembered every word and found it quite reasonable. After all, human lives were at stake, and saving as many as possible was the best thing to do.

At that moment, the image of the driver in the cockpit who sacrificed himself to save the passengers' lives flashed into her mind, and she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.

Zhang Yang bypassed Chen Shu and Director Wang, walked up to the on-site commander, and asked directly, "Hello, sir! I'm Zhang Yang, a reporter from Dongzhou TV. I have a question for you. If, by some chance, there are still survivors in the cabin, but you've caused their deaths, who will bear the responsibility?"

This attitude infuriated the on-site commander, who was at the level of deputy director of the local road bureau.

The two local police officers who came to offer suggestions were very polite, and he, in turn, gave them plenty of face.

Who would have thought they'd be treated like pushovers? Now, some nobody, a local TV reporter, dares to come and harass them!

Over here, due to repeated interruptions, the crane operators on site began to feel uneasy and were talking amongst themselves, inevitably slowing down their work.

The commander was furious and shouted, "This is a matter for our spaceship department. Now, please leave immediately."

Seeing their leader get angry, the young men following behind the commander immediately surrounded him.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Chen Shu prepared to step forward and pull Zhang Yang down.

At this moment, the old man with the missing arm who had been searching everywhere for help to save his granddaughter came over at the sound, grabbed Chen Shu's arm, and asked expectantly:

"Officers, have you found my granddaughter?"

(End of this chapter)