Massive China Forest Fire Kills Nineteen

By Staff, Agencies

Eighteen firefighters and one forestry guide died while fighting a huge forest fire in southwestern China, the local government said Tuesday.

State television footage showed large flames shooting into the sky from the mountains above the city of Xichang in Sichuan province, turning the sky orange.

Heavy clouds of smoke billowed above the buildings and roads of the city, which has a population of some 700,000 people.