In an emergency cooling system (17) for a component (1) which is subject to thermal load in operation, in, e.g., a turbine, the component (1) has a wall (3) which, in operation, is acted on by heat on a first wall side (14) and is acted on by a flow of cooling fluid (11) on a second wall side (15). The wall (3) has at least one emergency cooling opening (12) which is closed off by a plug (16) and through which cooling fluid flows from the second wall side (15) to the first wall side (14) when the plug (16) is absent. The plug (16) is designed so as to melt at a predetermined temperature. The plug (16) is a body which is produced separately from the component (1), the plug (16) being inserted into the emergency cooling opening (12), in which it is connected to the component (1).