Local police in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province have detained a man who
allegedly caused a major fire disaster in the forested Greater
Higgnan Mountains during the past May Day holiday with a cigarette
butt.
The man, identified as Dong Chunlin, who is a resident of
Nenjiang County, was detained on Friday, according to information
from the security bureau of the Daxing'anling Administrative Office
of Heilongjiang Province.
During interrogation, Dong, 51, confessed that on April 30, he
smoked outside a cave dug into the mountains near Hannuohe Meadow,
then carelessly threw away the burning butt into the nearby
brushwood and went inside the cave to take some rest.
Dong was awaken about an hour later, by the thick smoke of the
forest fire, to find the conflagration was out of control.
The fire, which broke out in the afternoon of April 30, ravaged
10,400 ha of land, including 10,317 ha grassland and 83 ha
forest.
The national headquarters for the prevention of forest fires
sent about 10,000 fire fighters, together with airplanes, to help
extinguish the fire. The fire was put out five days later.
Dong's case needs further investigation, according to the
police.
(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2007)