Newlywed couple throws themselves in quake relief efforts

Ye Fang and Xu Lu, a newlywed couple from Anqing, Anhui province, have garnered widespread praise online for their courageous response during the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the Xizang autonomous region on Tuesday morning.

According to a report from Xinhua News Agency, on Jan 6, a day before the earthquake happened, the couple visited the base camp of Mount Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West, during their honeymoon and spent the night at a place about 40 kilometers away from the epicenter area, along with their travel guide Xia Bing.

"At around 9 am (the next morning), before we departed for Namtso Lake, our phones received alerts almost at the same time as we felt the jolt," said Ye Fang, the husband. They quickly packed up and set off to leave.

When passing through a village of the quake-hit Dingri county, where houses had collapsed, Ye, who had just retired after serving 16 years in the army, immediately decided to stay to rescue people.

Before more rescue teams arrived, Ye contacted the local police and started to dig and shovel debris in search of survivors after being allowed to participate in the effort. Ye recalled that he and other policemen dug for over 20 minutes to rescue a woman trapped under a layer that was around 50 centimeters thick. But unfortunately, she was found dead when they finally reached her.

While Ye was digging to find survivors, his wife Xu Lu was distributing all the daily necessities they were carrying to local residents as relief supplies. Many villagers were wearing only thin clothes as they hurried to rush out of their houses when the quake came. Xu gave her hat to an injured grandma, a scarf to an infant, and also disinfectants, band-aids, and foot warmers to other villagers.

At the same time, Xia Bing also helped transport injured people at nearby villages.

They didn't leave until more rescuers arrived at the scene.