PLA brigade awarded for earthquake, mudslide rescues

A brigade under the Lanzhou Military Area Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army has been awarded by the Central Military Commission (CMC) for its brave rescue operations in the aftermath of two natural disasters in northwest China. An award-issuing ceremony was held Friday in Wuwei city, Gansu province, to read the order signed by CMC Chairman Hu Jintao, who is also the State President and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. The brigade participated in rescues in Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture, which was struck by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake on April 14, 2010, leaving 2,200 dead and 70 missing, and in Zhouqu county, Gansu province, where a catastrophic mudslide occurred in the late night of August 7, killing 1,434 local people and leaving 331 missing.