At 16:30 on August 3, 2014, a 6.5 - magnitude earthquake struck Ludian County, Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province (latitude 27.1°N, longitude 103.3°E), with a focal depth of 12 kilometers. It was the earthquake with the highest magnitude in Yunnan since 1974. Yunnan Province promptly activated a Level - II emergency response, which was later adjusted to a Level - I emergency response. This earthquake affected 1.0884 million people in Ludian County, Qiaojia County, Zhaoyang District, Yongshan County of Zhaotong City, and Huize County of Qujing City. As of 19:00 on August 7, 615 people had died.
Blue Sky Rescue Teams across the country were urgently put on standby and headed to Ludian to carry out rescue operations.
At 13:00 on August 4th, to everyone's deep sorrow, while rescuing the trapped people, Xie Qiao, regardless of his personal safety, leaped into the turbulent barrier lake. Tragically, during his swim, he was struck on the head by a falling rock and passed away despite efforts to save him.
Local residents and members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team bid farewell to the hero.
