Forget them not: Relatives protest over contract firemen missing in China's Tianjin blasts
Relatives protest at district government office, demanding updates on missing contract workers
The families of dozens of missing contract firefighters on Sunday staged a demonstration in the wake of the deadly blasts that rocked the port city of Tianjin, after growing frustrated with days of silence from officials.
About 50 relatives from Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong marched in scorching heat to the district government office at around 10am.
Several people blocked three lanes from the Tianjin Port Hospital to the government office, displaying a banner saying, "return our sons, give our families an explanation".
"We've been here for four days, but still haven't met anyone who can tell us anything useful," said Yuan Chenggang outside the entrance of the Tianjin Binhai New Area government office. His 18-year-old fireman son, Yuan Xuxu, is missing.
Distraught family members called for fair treatment for their relatives, the first batch of contract firefighters deployed by the Tianjin Port Group. Only a few of the first three teams to arrive at the scene have emerged alive. Some have been declared dead and the rest remain missing.
These firefighters operate "outside the system" - they are not controlled by the public security ministry, but by enterprises and institutions. Their families claim they have not been included in the death toll figures and that not enough is being done to trace those missing.