About 2,200 firemen and forestry workers are battling a forest
fire that broke out in Heihe City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Monday morning,
according to local forestry sources.
The situation remains serious because of strong winds. Satellite
pictures show that the fire had destroyed approximately 25 square
kilometers of forest at 8 PM Monday, according to Jin Qiang, deputy
head of the provincial forest fire prevention headquarters.
Jin added that the provincial government has made preparations
for artificial rainfall.
In another development, a helicopter carrying firefighters
crashed into a forest 70 kilometers west of Heihe at about 1:30 PM
Monday due to a hydraulic system failure, injuring all seven
onboard, a source with the General Administration of Civil Aviation
of China said.
A team has been dispatched to the crash site to
investigate.
(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2006)