"Hero mother" burns herself saving neighbor's children from fire

"Hero mother" Surina, who suffered severe burns saving her neighbor's two children in a big fire, received the first phrase of medical treatment at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) No. 253 Hospital on the morning of November 16. It is expected that she will recover all function in her neck after the treatment and a considerable amount in both of her hands, enabling her to take care of herself in daily life.

"Hero mother" burns herself saving neighbor's children from fire

29-year-old Surina is a herdswoman who lives in Wulanmaodu, Keyouqianqi, Xing'anmeng in Inner Mongolia. Surina saved her neighbor's two children from an unexpected big fire on September 6 2008. She rushed back into the fire again to save her son, but could not rescue him because the fire had become too large. Her 4-year-old son died, and she suffered severe burns and was sent to hospital.

Reviewing the accident that happened a year ago, strong Surina could hardly conceal her inner sorrow and her eyes filled with tears. On September 6 2008, her husband went to graze livestock on grassland 100 kilometers away from their house and Surina returned home to prepare lunch after mowing grass. She had bought 25 kilograms of gasoline for motorcycle fuel. Around noon, she started to cook dinner while cleaning the house. Her 4-year-old son was playing with neighbor's children near the door. She was busy and did not realize that a disaster was about to happen.

Just after she had poured some water into a pot, Surina suddenly heard Wenzhe, the eldest of the three children, shout: "Auntie, the gasoline has spilt." She immediately hurried out of the house, but by this time the spilt gasoline had trickled to a stove and burst into flames around Wenzhi. "Help!" the children shouted in great terror. She ran towards the children without any hesitation and grabbed the two children closest to the fire to the yard. Then she extinguished the flames on their bodies.

At that moment, her son was trying to pick up the gasoline bottle on the ground. She shouted desperately, "Do not move the bottle." It was too late however. The big fire had almost blocked the way into the house and heavy smoke and flames were billowing out from the door. Surina, who was anxious to save her son, ran into the flames despite the spreading fire. The fire spread relentlessly and she called her son's name desperately.

At that time, a villager named Bao Baogui passed by her house. "When I got out of the car, I saw her running into the house and two children with burned hair and clothes sitting in the yard crying." Bao ran into the house following Surina, who was desperately calling her son's name, and tried to drag her out of the house, but she continued to struggle in the fire and tried to find her son.

Her body had caught fire and Bao's clothes were also burned. He finally dragged her out of the house and put her into a pool of water in front of the house to extinguish the fire on her body and hair. The entire house quickly burned to the ground.

When Surina was taken out of the pool of water, her hair had been scorched, her face and neck had been burned black, the skin of her hands had peeled and her back and feet were severely burned. Four neighbors sent her to the Gacha Health Center 25 kilometers away. Because she was seriously burned, she was then hospitalized at Xing'anmeng People's Hospital after being transferred three times. After 76 hours of rescue, this young mother was saved.

News of Sarina's heroic deed spread very quickly in her hometown and people were deeply moved by her strong spirit. The day after the accident, the Wulanmaodu government sent her 3,000 yuan and kind-hearted villagers sent her food and quilts. The Civil Affairs Bureau under the Keyouqianqi government also sent her 5,000 yuan. Departments including the local branch office of the Red Cross and the Women's Federation also gave her a lot of help.

Several days ago, Surina was elected as one of the "ten outstanding mothers that have moved the people in the grasslands" by the Inner Mongolia Women's Federation.

Reporters learned that at present Surina is out of danger after receiving medical treatment, but she is still unable to take care of herself. She has to continue to receive medical treatment at the PLA No. 253 Hospital. The hospital estimates that six courses of treatment will be required at a total cost of 80,000 yuan. Aside from 30,000 yuan donated by the Hunan Chamber of Commerce, the remaining medical costs will be fully covered by the hospital.

Surina's house has been burned to the ground and her family will face considerable difficulty in the future. Thanks to extensive publicity by media agencies, Surina has received a lot of help from various social circles.

Translated by LOTO