Rescuers battling forest fire in China's Sichuan

CHENGDU -- As of 2 am Sunday, 930 individuals had already been dispatched to combat the forest fire raging in Southwest China's Sichuan province, with an additional 775 rushing to the site, local authorities said.

The fire erupted in Baizi village, in Yajiang county of Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Garze, at around 5 pm on Friday. Due to sudden increases in wind speed, it rapidly spread to other areas, said the headquarters of forest and grassland fire prevention and control in Garze.

Eight helicopters had been deployed to put out the blaze.

On Sunday morning, several local residents told Xinhua that the fire was not visible from the county seat and that water, electricity, and communication services had remained unaffected.

Following the outbreak of the fire, Xinhua correspondents contacted Lianghekou hydropower station in Yajiang. A staff member said the station had not been affected by the fire.

So far, no casualties have been reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.