Xinhua News Agency, Lhasa, January 7th Title: Disaster is ruthless and people are affectionate - first-day experience on the front line of earthquake relief in Dingji, Tibet

Xinhua News Agency reporters Zhai Yongguan, Bai Mingshan, Wei Guanyu

At 9:5 on January 7, 2025, the dawn of the plateau had just arrived, and a magnitude 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Mount Everest's hometown - Dingri County, Shigatse, Tibet.

After the earthquake, tens of thousands of rescue forces such as emergency rescue, fire rescue, forest firefighting, public security police officers, and military officers and soldiers rushed to the epicenter as soon as possible. More than 170,000 urgently needed materials, including quilts, blankets, cotton coats, stoves, instant noodles, etc., were transported to the disaster area one after another.

Xinhua News Agency reporters divided into four groups to rush to the front line of the earthquake-stricken area, followed the rescuers to witness one life after another being rescued, the tent was set up, the warm bedding was delivered, and the hot meal was brought up.

After the strong earthquake, the first day and night at the foot of Mount Everest, disaster is the command and life is the mission.

"We used our hands to dig out the buried personnel." Dingri County Public Security Bureau police officer Dun Zhuciren's body was covered in dust, sweat on his face rushed out of ditches, and his fingernails were stuffed with soil and blood.

After the earthquake, he and his comrades rushed to Gurong Village, Changsuo Township, Dingri County within half an hour, which was one of the worst-hit villages. From sunrise to sunset, the rescue team where Dunzhu Tseren was located rescued 17 trapped people today.

"Reporting to the detachment, a trapped person was found, and rescue was being carried out." At 12:26 on the 7th, under the ruins of a collapsed house in Gurong Village, Changsuo Township, rescuers found a trapped person. Dingri County Fire Rescue Brigade and local police immediately launched rescue. Rescue personnel shoveled out the soil as quickly as possible, and the trapped people were immediately transferred to a safe area for treatment after they were rescued.

When night falls, the darker sky gradually increases the difficulty of search and rescue. In order to grasp the "Golden 72 hours", departments and units at all levels continue to carry out post-disaster rescue work.

At the post-disaster rescue site of Cuoguo Township, Dingri County, firefighters carefully searched and rescued with flashlights in hand, and the search and rescue dogs sniffed back and forth in the collapsed ruins, helping the search and rescue personnel find the missing persons.

The two resettlement sites in Gurong Village have built more than 30 tents, and each of them has received more than two quilts and a mattress.

The reporter visited and found that the stove had been lit up in the tents of some people, and the tents were very warm.

57-year-old Mima lives in a tent with another family. The elderly and children are sleeping together. Mima receives water and some snacks at night and is ready to spend the night.

Sangjie, a village cadre from Gurong Village, the person in charge of the resettlement site, told reporters that the biggest problem today is the temperature, but the arrival of the quilt has solved this problem. A stove will be added at the resettlement site tomorrow to help the people cook butter tea and eat tsampa.

The reporter observed that around 17:00 on the 7th, the tents in Gurong Village had been basically built and all the people had moved into the tent. At around 19:30, the first batch of bedding was sent to Gurong Village. Cadres and police began to distribute it. The temperature at the scene had dropped to minus 2 degrees Celsius. The weather forecast showed that the lowest was minus 16 degrees Celsius tonight.

At 20 o'clock, the street lights in the village were restored to lighting, and a certain unit of the People's Liberation Army set up a medical treatment point at the resettlement point to provide medical services to the people.

More than 60 PLA ​​officers and soldiers came to Gurong Village, Changsuo Township at around 12 noon today and directly participated in the local rescue work. Tonight they buried pots and cooked rice here to provide hot dishes and hot food for the people.

Under the dark night, aftershocks continue to come. But with the protection of the Party and the government, everything will be fine.