Wong Fook Wing

A truck driver from Hong Kong who has spent the last decade helping those in need died Thursday while rescuing children from an orphanage that collapsed following the 7.1-magnitude Yushu earthquake. He was 46.

 

Wong Fook Wing arrived in Yushu, Qinghai Province, on April 8 to deliver medicine and clothes to Cixingxishan Orphanage from Lanzhou, Gansu Province. He had told his friend Moca in March that he wanted to spend his two months of vacation there, knowing the children had no clothes or food.

Wong had helped some children from the building safely before he returned to search for three missing orphans and three teachers. It was then that he was buried by falling debris.

Wong had helped earthquake victims before. In May 2008, Wong went to Chengdu and Shifang following the Sichuan earthquake to deliver supplies and clear debris. Hong Kong's Department of Civil Affairs awarded him an honorary volunteer certificate for his efforts.

"He said then he couldn't bear standing in front of the TV and sweeping every day," wrote a friend named Doctor Lan on a blog. "He had to do something for the people there."

Wong also sent supplies to Wenchuan County several times. "A lot of people in Hong Kong are donating," he told the media. "I'm a truck driver. I don't have a lot of money. What I can contribute is my strength."

In 2002, after reading Challenging Death by leukemia and cerebral cancer patient Sui Jiguo, he joined Sui on a three-month journey from Hong Kong to Beijing to raise awareness for leukemia patients. They collected 200,000 yuan (US$19,294).

The three children and one of the teachers Wong was trying to find have been rescued. The other two teachers are still missing.

As of Friday morning, 791 people have died and more than 11,486 injured from the earthquake, which struck early Wednesday morning. About 294 people are still missing.