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On the afternoon of December 27, rescue operation troops, led by Political Commissar Duan Shuchun of Chongqing Garrison, worked in close cooperation with local health authorities, to comb through the villages that had been affected by gas well blowout in northeastern Sichuan Province to collect dead animals and then had them burned and buried in order to guard against breakout of epidemics.
Xiaoyang Village, Gaoqiao Town, Kaixian County, Chongqing, was one of the worst affected areas in this accident. At noon, a flame-thrower element from the Chengdu Military Area Command was throwing flames onto piles of animal bodies.
Political Commissar Duan told the reporter that 26 officers and men, together with 642 militiamen and reservists, rushed off at 4:00 am from their stationed places to come here to clear off dead animals. They divided into 5 groups and went to 5 villages, including Xiaoyang and Pingyang villages, and they had collected, burned and buried more than 5,600 dead animals, including pigs, cows and goats. In addition, military medical workers worked in close cooperation with relevant local authorities to evaluate the safety of grains, vegetables, animals and plants, and test drinking water and air. As the area contaminated by the gas well blowout was very vast, they worked for more than 20 consecutive hours without taking a break.
At noon, it started to rain and the temperature dropped sharply. However, the disinfection operation continued without letting up. The flame-thrower element, led by deputy chief of staff of a division, stepped up its burning operation. Though it was freezingly cold in the open, these soldiers were wet with sweat because of the scorching heat from the flame-throwers. Tang Shiyi, the deputy political instructor, fainted twice due to exhaustion, however as soon as he came to, he immediately picked himself up and continued the operation.
Meanwhile, Director Sun Zibing and Political Commissar Zhou Yun of the Kaixian County People's Armed Force Department, led militiamen and reservists to collect animal bodies from house to house. The strong offensive odors from rotten animals made them sick, vomit and unable to keep their eyes open, but they did not flinch and continue their operation. Xiang Xiaohua, director of the Dajin Township People's Armed Forces Department, had developed symptoms of being poisoned in early days of rescue work, but he ignored the advice of his doctors and continued to lead more than 100 militiamen to do rescue work at disaster-hit area. Unfortunately he sprained his leg while carrying the body of a dead water buffalo. When advised to take a rest by militiamen, he said: "The sooner we complete disinfection work, the earlier the villagers can return home". With that, he returned to work.
By Chen Daojun, Ma Shubi and Jiang Xinghua
(December 30, PLA Daily)
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