ON TUESDAY, the Shenzhen team of Blue Sky Rescue, a domestic nonprofit civil rescue team, confirmed that two of its members had died trying to rescue 24 tourists who had got into difficulties. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

According to the official news release, it was on Monday that the rescue team received a telephone call from 24 travelers, who were trapped in a river valley, with a storm on the way and one of the female travelers being badly injured.

The team responded immediately. However, when they helped the travelers, two team members got trapped by the rising river water. The next day, they were confirmed dead.

The two heroes who sacrificed their own lives to save others are being mourned by all.

However, it would have been much better if the two could have returned from their rescue mission alive. They will be sorely missed by their families.

We would rather such "heroic deeds" were not required. However, that depends on people being more sensible. In the past several years, there have been many cases in which travelers, ignoring the signs saying certain areas are dangerous and off-limits, have taken it upon themselves to "explore" unpaved and unmarked regions and ended up needing to be rescued. By so doing, they put not only their own lives at risk but also the lives of those who go to their aid.

In this case, although the travelers may have been in an authorized area, they ignored the warnings of an approaching typhoon. It was extremely reckless of them to travel into the wild on such a day, as the local weather forecast had warned people against the impending typhoon. Two rescuers have lost their lives because of the thoughtlessness of others.

Although the majority of travelers behave properly, some attempt challenging tasks that are obviously beyond their abilities.

The law has already made it clear that if a traveler or group gets into difficulties when entering unauthorized regions, they must bear the costs of the rescue operations. The regulations need strengthening to deter travelers from putting their own lives and the lives of others at risk.