30 people missing while battling forest fire in southwest China

CHENGDU, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Thirty people have gone missing while battling a forest fire in southwest China's Sichuan Province, local authorities said Monday.

They have been unaccounted for since Sunday afternoon after a sudden change in wind direction caused an outburst of the blaze, according to authorities in Sichuan's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

Local authorities have dispatched 689 people to quench the blaze which broke out at about 6 p.m. on Saturday at a remote spot in the mountains at an altitude of about 3,800 meters.

A team sent by the Ministry of Emergency Management has arrived in Muli County in Liangshan to coordinate the rescue efforts.