BEIJING, Mar. 24 -- In the past few days, Uvira, a city in South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been hit by heavy rains. A UN transit camp in Uvira, which is responsible for the security inspection and transshipment of passengers and materials for the Uvira Airport, has got scoured by the rising lake water, leading to embankment collapse and roadbed damage, which have seriously threatened both personnel and equipment safety therein.

Upon receiving the task of repairing the embankment, China’s 24th peacekeeping engineer contingent to the DRC rushed to the scene. Both manual labor and mechanical operations were scientifically coordinated to carry out the repair under the premise of regular prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The gabion filled with stones were stacked to form the substructure, and then sands and gravels were piled and tamped on top of gabion layer by layer to create a one-meter-high protective slope. This has effectively eliminated the immersion and erosion of the lake water on the embankment.

After 10-day high-intensity operation, the Chinese peacekeeping engineer contingent completed the repair of embankment with high efficiency and quality, where it dispatched more than 160 person-times and transported sands and gravels of over 2,500 cubic meters with vehicles and machines. These Chinese peacekeepers thereby won high acclaim from the civil affairs department of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).