China awards posthumous first-class merits to crashed helicopter crew for quake relief
16/6/2008 16:34
Hu Jintao, China's Central Military Commission chairman, signed an order
to bestow Senior Colonel Qiu Guanghua with a posthumous first-class merit on
June 14.
Born in April 1957, Qiu joined the army in April 1974 and the
Communist Party of China in June 1976 respectively.
In his 34 years of
military service, Qiu participated in such key missions as opening air routes
from Sichuan to Tibet and Qinghai to Tibet. He also participated in many
scientific experiments for national defense and disaster relief
missions.
Over his career, Qiu won two second-class merits and four
third-class merits for his outstanding service performance.
Since the
devastating earthquake jolted Sichuan on May 12, Qiu had actively participated
in the disaster relief mission in the worst-hit regions, including Wenchuan,
Beichuan and Maoxian.
Before his helicopter crashed on May 31, the crew, led
by Qiu Guanghua, had completed 63 flights, transferring 25.8 tons of relief
materials, 87 quake-relief workers and 234 victims.
On June 11, searchers
found the remains of the missing helicopter and people on board in the mountains
near the quake epicenter town Yingxiu. Qiu and another 17 people on board were
confirmed dead.
Chengdu Military Command also awarded first-rank merits to
the other four crew members, including Li Yue, Wang Huaiyuan, Chen Lin and Zhang
Peng.
Xinhua
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