China's first public lost child alert system has been launched on Monday in Nanjing city in east China's Jiangsu province.
The alert system has been installed at the Deji Plaza, a busy commercial zone in Nanjing city.
Once the parents realize that their child is missing or has got lost in the building, they can push the emergency button located at the elevator on every floor.
Staff at the plaza will then make an inquiry about the physical features and other details of the lost child from the parents and start a 10-minute search operation. All exits in the building will be shut down and monitored by security guards during this period.
The nearest police station will also provide emergency services and carry on the search if the lost child is not found after ten minutes.
A worker at the plaza says the security guards and staff members have been trained to search for lost children before the alert system was installed.
A system trial was conducted on May 29, and the child was found in the plaza in six minutes after setting up the emergency call.
The missing child safety program is being widely used in the United States and Canada. It is called "Code Adam".
Chen Shiqu, an officer of the Ministry of Public Security says the lost child alert system is an effective mechanism that can be replicated in other large public venues.
It is reported that around 200,000 children are lost every year in China and many of them get lost in public places.
