This Day, That Year

Item from Nov 18, 1991, in China Daily: Two of the 57 Chinese firefighters who returned from Kuwait yesterday are greeted by well-wishers at Beijing's airport. ... The team was part of an international effort to extinguish oil-well fires in Kuwait resulting from the Gulf War.

Since it was established in 2001, the China International Search and Rescue Team has taken part in at least 10 rescue missions in countries including Japan, Iran, Haiti and New Zealand, saving tens of thousands of lives.

The latest mission was in Kathmandu, Nepal, when a massive earthquake hit the area on April 25, causing more than 9,000 deaths.