The 2,000 migrant workers stranded in snowstorms that had
ravaged the western part of Yunnan Province in southwest China
since late January were evacuated, and the four teenagers died were
identified, said local sources on Wednesday.
The highway connecting Pianma and Liuku, also known as Lushui,
which was blocked by blizzard was reconnected on Wednesday, while
the migrant workers could celebrate the Spring Festival with their
families, except for about 30 who stayed voluntarily to celebrate
with police on the border area, said Chen Mang, an officer with
Nujiang frontier guard detachment in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous
Prefecture of Yunnan.
The migrant workers, mostly locals of Yunnan who were on a
home-going journey, worked with construction or service trade
sectors in Myanmar.
The four deceased teenagers were confirmed as students from the
middle school of Luzhang township in Lushui county on their way
home 33 km away in the adjacent Pianma township.
Together with two other students, the quaternion, all boys,
ventured to walk home on Jan. 28, despite the road blockage.
After a cold night on a roadside truck, two students abandoned
the plan the next day, whereas the victims lost contact with the
outside on Jan. 30.
Their bodies were found nine km away from the mountain pass.
(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2008)