Luo Changming was at home when he was called back to work - for
de-icing power cables in Hunan Province.
"It's so close to the New Year," his father-in-law pleaded,
trying to dissuade him.
But the 32-year-old, with 10 years of experience, was adamant
that he would answer the call of duty - and thought the double pay
for holiday work would also come in handy.
He headed into the night, traveling over 10 hours to the
provincial capital of Changsha to join the disaster relief team of
the local grid company.
Disaster struck when the power pylon on which Luo was operating
collapsed under the weight of ice last Saturday.
His coworkers, 33-year-old Luo Haiwen and 35-year-old Zhou
Jinghua were also taken down by the tower.
Premier Wen Jiabao, who visited the families to express
condolences, found himself at a loss for words when he met the
speech-and-hearing-impaired widow of Luo Changming.
Premier Wen Jiabao bows to the family
members of the three victims to express condolences in Changsha,
Hunan Province, yesterday.
"I cannot express my sympathy in mere words. Let me bow to you,"
he said, bowing.
Tributes have poured in for the three in newspapers and on the
Internet as the nation eulogizes the fallen heroes.
They have been posthumously honored as Revolutionary Martyrs by
the Hunan government for trying to salvage State property,
Changsha Evening Newspaper reported.
The worst snowstorms in half a century started battering Hunan
on January 11. Over 60 mm of ice and snow collected on power cables
designed to withstand no more than 10 mm.
For days, parts of Changsha had been experiencing power outages
and the cables needed to be repaired.
To ensure normal functioning of the 500-kilowatt main power grid
in Changsha, Luo Changming and 3,000 coworkers from Hunan Power
Company had to climb onto the pylons and knock off the sleet
accumulated on cables with hammers, pliers and rods.
Under the weight of the ice, the cables would oscillate in
howling wind, and the violent swings were strong enough to shake
giant iron pylons to their core.
The two Luos and Zhou had been working as long as 17 hours every
day chipping ice 50 meters above the ground when the pylon
collapsed.
Coworker Liu Guojun recalled the chilling moment: "I suddenly
saw that the pylon they were working on had disappeared," he told
Law Weekly.
The pylon was on top of a hill, and a thick layer of snow and
ice covered the path leading to it. It took Liu over two hours to
stumble up the hill, only to find Luo Changming's cold body covered
in blood.
Luo Haiwen and Zhou were still alive when they were found.
Luo Haiwen's cousin Luo Junmin, who had been working on a nearby
pylon, said he saw Luo Haiwen dangling from the broken tower and
heard him screaming for help. Zhou was holding on to the pylon,
motionless and silent, Luo Junmin said.
Villagers and coworkers brought the two down the hill, and an
ambulance rushed them to the hospital. But it was too late.
Luo Haiwen leaves behind a wife, three young sons and ill
parents.
Zhou and his wife will never pose for the wedding photos they'd
missed earlier and planned to take on their 10th wedding
anniversary this Lunar New Year.
Luo Changming's coworkers remember him as "honest, kind and
earnest".
The honest man lied to his mother-in-law when they spoke on the
phone the morning of the accident. To stop her from worrying, he
told her he hadn't started work.
The Hunan Trade Union commended the fearlessness and
perseverance of the three. The local government has given the men's
relatives 100,000 yuan ($13,900) each in compensation.
"The people of the province thank you," said Zhou Qiang,
governor of the province.
Six power lines in the province have been repaired, partially
relieving the power shortage.
(China Daily January 30, 2008)
