Image copyright AFP Image caption Chinese soldiers were deployed to try to rescue the firefighters

Thirty firefighters have died while tackling a huge forest fire in south-western China, officials say.

Fire crews had been battling the blaze in the mountains of Sichuan province on Sunday when a change in wind direction caused "a huge fireball", trapping them, the emergency ministry said.

Contact with 30 firefighters was lost. All were confirmed dead on Monday and their bodies were retrieved from the mountain, state TV said.

The blaze broke out on Saturday.

About 700 firefighters have been trying to control the flames in a remote area of Muli county, state media reported.

A separate forest fire in the northern province of Shanxi was brought under control on Sunday after burning for two days, the official Xinhua news agency said.

No casualties were reported from that fire, but at least 9,000 people were evacuated from their homes.</s>BEIJING — A forest fire in southwestern China turned deadly over the weekend when winds shifted unexpectedly, trapping firefighters and local officials in a maelstrom. The bodies of 30 people who could not escape were found on Monday, officials announced, even as the fire continued to burn out of control.

Among those who died were the chief of a regional forestry bureau in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, and his deputy, state media reported. The officials had traveled to the scene of the fire, which broke out on Saturday in a remote location at altitudes nearing 13,000 feet, and had not been heard from since.

“A huge fireball was formed in an instant,” the Ministry of Emergency Management said in a statement announcing the deaths.

The death toll appeared to be the largest for firefighters in China since a devastating blaze at a chemical plant in Tianjin killed more than 100 in 2015.</s>The firefighters die tackling a forest fire in remote mountains in China's Sichuan province

BEIJING, China – Thirty firefighters died after they were sent to tackle a forest blaze in remote mountains in southwest China's Sichuan province at the weekend, authorities said Monday, April 1.

Nearly 700 firefighters were deployed to battle the fire, which broke out on Saturday, March 30, on steep terrain at an altitude of around 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) in Muli County, the ministry of emergency management said.

Rescuers have found the bodies of 30 firefighters earlier listed as missing, the ministry said on its official twitter-like Weibo account.

Local authorities had lost contact with 30 firefighters on Sunday afternoon, March 31, after a sudden change in wind direction ignited a "huge fireball", the ministry had said in an earlier statement.

Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV showed plumes of smoke coming from the forested, mountainous region.

A separate forest fire that lasted two days in the northern province of Shanxi was brought under control on Sunday, the official Xinhua news agency said.

More than 9,000 people were evacuated from their homes due to that blaze, which did not cause any casualties.

Nearly 3,000 firefighters doused another forest fire in the outskirts of Beijing Sunday. No casualties were reported in the fire, which started Saturday and spread over 42.7 hectares (105.5 acres).

China's National Meteorological Center has warned warmer temperatures and lower precipitation compared with previous years have raised the risk of forest fires in the north of the country, Xinhua said.

In May 1987, the deadliest forest fire in recent Chinese history killed 119 in northeast Heilongjiang province, injuring 102 and leaving 51,000 homeless. – Rappler.com</s>Firefighters are struggling to douse a forest fire that broke out in the mountains of southwestern China at the weekend, killing at least 26 firefighters, with four missing, state media said on Monday.

The fire broke out on Saturday in the Muli county of Sichuan province, perched at an altitude of more than 4,000 m. (13,000 ft), with poor transport and communication links.

By Sunday afternoon, authorities had sent nearly 700 firefighters to put out the fire, but 30 went missing after a surge of flames fed by a sudden shift in the wind, the People's Daily newspaper said.

The bodies of the dead firefighters have been retrieved, it added.</s>Southwestern China Forest Fire Contained After Killing Over Two Dozen Firefighters

A forest fire in southwestern China that killed more than two dozen firefighters has been contained, local authorities said.

The fire broke out on Saturday evening local time in a remote area of the country's Sichuan province and killed 30 people in total, according to the state news agency Xinhua. The blaze took place at over 12,000 feet.

The agency reported that the fire in Muli County, in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, had been contained by Tuesday afternoon local time, though some areas continued to burn.

Footage from Chinese media shows billowing grey clouds moving over tree-covered mountains. The fire burned across 15 hectares, or about 37 acres, according to Xinhua, as complex terrain – including a thick layer of forest and limited access to water — hindered efforts to put out the fire.

State media reported that 27 of those killed were firefighters, who died on Sunday after the winds shifted abruptly. Their deaths were confirmed on Monday. The majority of the deceased were in their twenties, though several were older and a couple were teenagers, according to Chinese media company Sina, which released a list of names.

The firefighters were among hundreds sent to battle the blaze at its peak, with several helicopters bringing in reinforcements, The Associated Press reports.

Other fires have broken out across the country in recent days, including a blaze more than a thousand miles from Sichuan in a mountainous area on the outskirts of Beijing, as well as a fire in the northern province of Shanxi that forced at least 9,000 people to evacuate, according to the BBC.

No casualties were reported in either of those fires. The AP reports recent dry weather and high winds have helped to fan the flames.</s>BEIJING (Reuters) - Firefighters are struggling to douse a forest fire that broke out in the mountains of southwestern China at the weekend and killed 30 firefighters, state media said on Monday.

The fire broke out on Saturday in the Muli county of Sichuan province, perched at an altitude of more than 4,000 m. (13,000 ft), with poor transport and communication links.

Images broadcast by state media showed flames and thick white smoke rising from a mountainside. It was not immediately clear whether there were any civilian casualties.

By Sunday afternoon, authorities had sent nearly 700 firefighters to put out the fire, but 30 of them went missing after a surge of flames fed by a sudden shift in the wind, state media said.

All the missing fighters were confirmed dead on Monday, state television said, adding that their bodies had been retrieved.</s>BEIJING: At least 24 firefighters were killed while trying to douse a forest blaze in remote mountains in southwest China, the state media reported on Monday.

The firefighters were sent to put the fire which broke out on Saturday in Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Southwest China's Sichuan province, China Daily quoted the PLA Daily, the official organ of the Chinese military as saying.

About 30 people have been unaccounted for since Sunday afternoon after a sudden change in wind direction caused an outburst of the blaze, according to authorities in Sichuan's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

Local authorities have dispatched 689 people to quench the blaze which broke out at about 6 pm at an altitude of about 3,800 meters.

A team sent by the Ministry of Emergency Management has arrived in Muli County in Liangshan to coordinate the rescue efforts.</s>TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 26 firefighters died after hundreds were sent to tackle a forest blaze in remote mountains in southwest China’s Sichuan province at the weekend, authorities said Monday.

Nearly 700 firefighters were deployed to battle the fire, which broke out on Saturday on steep terrain at an altitude of around 4,000 metres in Muli County, according to the ministry of emergency management.

Authorities lost contact with 30 firefighters on Sunday afternoon after a sudden change in wind direction ignited a “huge fireball,” the ministry said in a statement, AFP reported.

Rescuers have found 26 bodies and are looking for the other missing crew.</s>At least 26 firefighters have died while tackling a huge forest fire in south-western China, officials say.

Fire crews had been battling the blaze in the mountains of Sichuan province on Sunday when a change in wind direction caused "a huge fireball", trapping them, the emergency ministry said.

Contact with 30 firefighters was lost. Twenty-six were later confirmed dead and a search is continuing for the others, authorities said.

The blaze broke out on Saturday.

About 700 firefighters have been trying to control the flames in a remote area of Muli county, state media reported.

A separate forest fire in the northern province of Shanxi was brought under control on Sunday after burning for two days, the official Xinhua news agency said.

No casualties were reported from that fire, but at least 9,000 people were evacuated from their homes.</s>Beijing: At least 24 people died after firefighters were sent to combat a forest blaze in remote mountains in southwest China at the weekend, state media said Monday.

Hundreds of firefighters were deployed to battle the fire, which broke out on Saturday evening on steep terrain at an altitude of around 3,800 metres, local officials said.

Authorities in Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture said they lost contact with 30 firefighters on Sunday afternoon after a sudden change in wind direction ignited a larger blaze.

Officials were able to speak to two firefighters who confirmed that 24 had died, according to a newspaper group affiliated with the People's Liberation Army.
Thirty firefighters die in southwestern China after a forest fire trapped them due to a sudden shift in winds.