30 people killed in Sichuan forest fire after change in wind creates ‘huge fireball’
- All those reported missing on Sunday while fighting blaze in remote part of country’s southwest confirmed dead
A forest fire in southwest China has killed 30 people who became trapped after a sudden change in wind direction created a “huge fireball”, state media reported on Monday.
The victims - 27 firefighters and three locals - had been reported missing on Sunday as firefighters fought the blaze in a remote, mountainous part of Liangshan prefecture in Sichuan province. Two of the locals are confirmed to be officials from the forestry bureau.
They became trapped after the wind abruptly changed direction, before they lost contact with other rescuers and were engulfed in flames.
The emergency ministry confirmed the following day that it had found the bodies of all 30 missing, China Central Television reported.
The blaze had still not been brought under control on Monday evening, and efforts to tackle the fire continued.
About 690 people had been dispatched to put out the fire in Muli county, which started on Saturday evening, the local authority said.
The blaze broke out at a remote spot in the rugged mountains at an altitude of about 3,800 meters, where transport and communication are difficult.
Two military helicopters have been sent to the area.
PLA Daily’s WeChat account earlier reported that rescuers had made contact with two survivors, before the authorities later confirmed that all those missing had been killed.
There has been a spate of forest fires in China in recent days.
In Shanxi, 1,500 firefighters battled a blaze that started on Friday afternoon and destroyed nearly 3,000 hectares of forest by Sunday.
On Saturday in Miyun district on the outskirts of Beijing a fire broke out at noon. It took more than 2,000 rescuers and firefighters to put out the fire, which burned 50 hectares of forest.
No casualties were reported in either incident.
The Sichuan blaze is one of the most serious incidents of its kind in recent years.
In 2015, an explosion at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and other first responders.
In May 1987, a fire killed 119 people in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang .
