The AW119 medical configuration helicopter is the only light single-engine helicopter with emergency medical service (EMS) functions.

On 21st January, a tangerine helicopter took off from the Houjie service area of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway and began an air cruise for "Chunyun" (Spring Festival travel rush). This was the first time Dongguan has engaged helicopters during the Spring Festival travel rush, which is regarded as the largest annual human migration on Earth. During the peak period of Chunyun, helicopters will conduct air reconnaissance over the Taiping Expressway, Conghua-Dongguan Expressway and other sections of Dongguan expressways. They will also conduct air rescue drills in cooperation with ground traffic police in case of emergency incidents which occur on high-speed motorways.

The helicopters have been launched by the Traffic Police Detachment of the Dongguan Public Security Bureau. The AW119 medical configuration helicopter is the only light single-engine helicopter with emergency medical service (EMS) functions. Equipped with professional medical personnel and equipment such as breathing machines, syringe pumps, and defibrillation monitors, the rescue speed of the helicopter is 3 to 5 times faster than ground vehicles.

The helicopter will also cooperate with traffic police during key periods of the Spring Festival travel rush including 1st, 2nd, 10th, and 19th February, to conduct a circuit around the route of the TCM Hospital (General Hospital), Liaobu to Dalang section of Dongguan Expressway, Dalang to Xiegang section of Changping-Humen Port Expressway, Longlin Expressway, Tangxia to Dalang section of Dongguan Expressway, westbound Dongguan-Foshan Expressway to Weiyuan Overpass, Taiping Overpass to Machong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway, North Huancheng Road, and Shijie-Liaobu section of Dongguan Expressway. Via real-time broadcast from the helicopter, the traffic police command centre will be able to acquire live traffic conditions of major roads and work to better disperse traffic.

(By Stefanie Tan and Sev Pischl)