25 held responsible in deaths of 19 from devastating Sichuan forest fire

Twenty-five officials were held responsible for a forest fire that killed 19 and wounded three others in Southwest China's Sichuan province early this year, according to an investigation report announced on Monday.

The raging forest fire in Xichang, capital of the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan, started on the afternoon of March 30 in Jingjiu township. It killed 18 firefighters and a local guide and injured three other firefighters, according to the investigation conducted by Sichuan provincial government.

The blaze started on a farm. Strong winds spread the flames to Lushan Mountain, turning it into an inferno that people in downtown Xichang could see and smell as smoke filled the air.

The fire, which spread to an area of nearly 3,048 hectares with direct economic losses of more than 97 million yuan ($14.8 million), was extinguished on April 2 and was caused by "electrical fault, the investigation said.

After the fire was put out, Sichuan provincial government set up an investigative group with members from its departments of emergency management, public security, civil affairs and workers' union, as well as its bureaus of forestry and grassland, and weather.

The group found that a wire about 1.9 meters long on a wire pole overlapped the support frame of the pole under the action of the wind, causing the wire's insulation material to catch fire.

After the burning materials fell to the ground, they ignited weeds and shrubs on the ground and the inferno resulted.

The investigation found the thought of "life first, safety first" was not deeply rooted in the minds of officials in Xichang, and the infrastructure construction of forest and grassland fire prevention and control was lagging.

In the absence of expert research and judgment, people were organized to put out the fire, resulting in heavy firefighter casualties, the investigation found.

With the approval of Sichuan provincial government, 25 officials were held responsible for the incident.

Yu Shunkai, who was in charge of the safety of the wire pole, has been transferred to the judicial organ for investigation of criminal responsibility according to law, the investigation report said.