The last nighttime search and rescue drill for the landing of Shenzhou-6 spacecraft was concluded Thursday night.

Four helicopters took off one after another at 6:40 p.m. Thursday from the main landing field for Shenzhou-6 spacecraft to start last nighttime search and rescue drill.

At 8:00 p.m., the first helicopter landed less than 50 meters away from the presumed location of the re-entry capsule.

At 8:02 p.m., staff of the search and rescue team helped two " astronauts" opened the door of the re-entry capsule. The two " astronauts" walked out of the capsule by themselves.

At 8:05 p.m., the two "astronauts" boarded a helicopter on their own to go through medical check-up.

At 8:32 p.m., the two "astronauts" boarded two helicopters and were flown to a transfer airport, wrapping up the drill.

The drill, which started at 6:25 p.m., aimed to further enhance the search and rescue capability to ensure the safety of the astronauts, said an official with the drill.

Earlier, three such drills had been held in the main landing field, located in the central part of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Source: Xinhua