Month before turning 18, he perishes during Tianjin rescue mission
He would have turned 18 next month.
But Yuan Hai was among the 17 army firefighters who perished while carrying out rescue operations in the port city of Tianjin.
The city was rocked by two massive explosions on Wednesday night, killing more than 50 people.
His sister Yuan Yuan’s Weibo account showed pictures of the day she sent off her brother to join the army last year.
Yuan Hai and his family live in Zhongjiang county, in southwest China’s Sichuan province, China Daily reported.
She said she knew that her brother was part of the rescue team.
Kept calling
She kept calling him since Thursday morning, but couldn’t reach him.
On Thursday night, the family received the news.
“I need to go to see him for the last time,” her father was quoted as saying.
His sister couldn’t handle the news and expressed her grief on Weibo.
“It cannot be real. My dearest brother...we want you back.”
After she posted her comments, netizens flooded her Weibo account with messages of support.
Hero
Some said: “Your brother is a hero and a brother to us all.”
Others said: “Allow me to call you ‘sister’ and please be strong.”
There were more than 166,000 comments and 260,000 reposts.
The family still haven’t broken the news to their mother.
Said Miss Yuan Yuan: “I really don’t know how to tell her.”
Source: China Daily
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