The patient is rushed into the emergency room. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

An 82-year-old lung-infected patient who suffered respiratory failure was rushed in a 999 first-aid helicopter from Zhangjiakou to the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing on Thursday. The ride is 180 kilometers. The China-Japan Friendship Hospital is the nearest hospital in suburban Beijing that is accessible to around-the-clock air first aid.