30 deceased in forest fire honored as martyrs

Zhang Jun, head of the Xichang branch of the Liangshan forest fire brigade, and his team members went back to Xichang from Muli on Wednesday. Recalling the eruptive fire, Zhang said it had been the first blaze of its kind he’d encountered in a dozen years of firefighting, China News Service reported. "I was at the south part of the fire, when I heard a blare and saw a mushroom cloud about 50 to 60 meters high rising from the valley. Two to three minutes later, dense smoke began to fall and the communication equipment didn't work."

Zhang divided his team during the firefighting. One of them, consisting of 10 firefighters, only had four escape with their lives.

Zhao Maoyi still sees his dead teammate four days after the eruptive fire. When his team decided to evacuate after hearing blasts, the fire spread to their location from the foot of a mountain in seconds. They were blocked by a huge log. "I pushed one onto the log and used my last strength to climb over the log. When I looked back, I saw the desperate look on an 18-year-old teammate," Zhao cried. "I dream about him every night, I hear him saying 'give me a hand'".