英雄，一路走好！30 confirmed dead in southwest China forest fire

Thirty people were confirmed killed(牺牲 xīshēng) while fighting a forest fire(森林火灾 sēnlín huǒzāi) that broke out on Saturday in the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, the Ministry of Emergency Management said in a statement on Monday.

By 6:30 pm on Monday, the bodies(遗体 yítǐ) of the victims(遇难者 yùnàn zhě) were all recovered, including 27 firefighters and three locals, said the ministry, whose official website switched to black and white to mourn(哀悼 āidào) the tragedy.

Locals gather(聚集 jùjí) to pay tribute(致敬 zhìjìng) to the 30 people as their bodies arrived at Xichang City.

The fire broke out at about 6 p.m. Saturday in the mountains in southwestern Sichuan Province at an altitude over 3,700 meters and strong winds blew in several directions, said Zhou Tong, an official with local emergency management department.

The fire has burnt around 15 hectares of forest. The complex terrain, thick forest layer and difficulties in getting water to the mountains have impeded the fire fighting, Zhou said.

重点词汇 Key word:

英雄

• <名词 n.> hero
  E.g. Tā de fùqīn yīzhí shì tā de yīngxióng.
  她的父亲一直是她的英雄。
  Her father has always been her hero.

• <形容词 adj.> heroic
  E.g. Tā de yīngxióng shìjì shǐ wǒmen dōu gǎndòng le.
  他的英雄事迹使我们都感动了。
  His heroic deeds moved us all.