Wang Jin, 38, deputy chief of the only crematorium in badly ravaged Dujiangyan, a stout man with a deep voice, failed to hold back tears while recalling the days at his place after the massive Wenchuan earthquake.
"I was nearly on the brink of a breakdown when parents clung to the small bodies of their children killed in the disaster, right before the cremation," Wang, a veteran undertaker, told China Daily yesterday at his small office, which has a crack in the roof caused by the quake.
In the courtyard, a unique aroma released by white gardenias in full bloom permeated the air.
During the first few days following the quake, "It was full of the unpleasant smell of dead bodies, mostly children, and extreme grief here," he said.
At that time, the electricity and water supply were cut off. Parents of the children killed by the quake, before cremation, washed the dead bodies of their dearest with bottled drinking water provided by the funeral home.
"I saw a young mom remove the dried blood gently and carefully with her wet sleeves from the face of her little girl and then kiss her on the cheek," recalled Wang.
"She looked utterly pale and glassy eyed and kept whispering to her daughter who would never be able to respond."
During the night, a crowd of parents stayed in the corridors clutching their dead children in their arms, waiting for them to be cremated, he said.
"You couldn't even walk down the corridor. We had so many corpses to deal with, we had to work around the clock."
On normal days, the crematorium, which has six incinerators, manages about 20 bodies, Wang said.
That number rose to more than 100 a day after the quake. As of yesterday, nearly 900 remains of quake victims have been cremated at the crematorium, which is one of nine in Chengdu designated and coordinated by the provincial government.
Wang said his 20 staff have never left the compound since the quake.
"Most of their homes were damaged and family members injured."
Zhen Bo, the youngest of the 10 workers, said he cannot stand up straight due to severe lumbago.
"It's because we have been working long hours and have to bow down to work," said the spectacled man who could not even make time to see his baby boy born on June 1.
"We have too much work to do here. As long as I know my family is safe, it's OK," he said.
"We sent off those who passed away in the huge tragedy," he continued.
"The work involved direct contact with family members and was very important for comforting the living and respecting the deceased."
"Our workers were beaten and cursed by some who were not patient for the procedures involved," Wang said.
"We know their pain so we got over it."
A sobbing woman surnamed Gu said the workers had been patient and kind.
It was the fifth time she had been to pay tribute to her 11-year-old nephew, who died in a collapsed school building located in Dujiangyan.
"He was a lovely boy. Now his ashes are here, awaiting the move to a burial ground built for his school," said Gu, who was wearing a piece of white cloth on her head and straw around the waist, a traditional Chinese way to remember the dead.
Meanwhile, in the hall of the funeral home, some stories are even more tragic.
Four boards with pictures of quake victims were displayed for people to identify their lost ones.
Since June 8, the boxed ashes and basic information of 400 unclaimed bodies at the nine funeral homes were moved here for identification work, Wang said.
Unidentified dead bodies are cremated within 24 hours to prevent health risks, he said.
Before that, a photograph was taken of each corpse, he said.
Hair, blood, nails, and other tissues were recorded by a specialized forensic identification team to enable DNA identification at a later date.
So far, about 95 corpses have been claimed by their relatives, he said.
"Only after a series of procedures can the ashes of the dead be taken home by their family members."
Starting on May 16, funeral homes in Sichuan were ordered by the central government to provide free cremation services for the quake victims and to charge no more than 300 yuan for urns.
"In the first few days, we even ran out of boxes, but then we got a donation of 800 boxes from Henan province," Wang said.
As of yesterday, nearly 70,000 people were killed by the quake, a great number of whom were buried in those areas where cremation services are unavailable.
The government will build a DNA database for those unidentified dead bodies after the disastrous Sichuan earthquake for later identification.
（英语点津 Helen 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries
