30 deceased in SW China forest fire honored as martyrs

BEIJING -- Thirty people, including 27 firefighters and three locals, who died while fighting a forest fire in Southwest China's Sichuan province, have been recognized as martyrs.

The recognition is approved by the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Sichuan provincial government.

The forest fire broke out at around 6 pm on March 30 at a remote spot in the mountains at an altitude of over 3,700 meters in Sichuan's Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture. Local authorities dispatched more than 600 people to put out the blaze.

After engulfing about 15 hectares of forest, the blaze was extinguished Tuesday.