Xuan Li, Zhang Huibing’s widow, with her son.Wang Liming
A TEACHER at a school in Shifang City, Sichuan Province, was crushed to death by a floor slab while trying to help more students to safety after the killer earthquake struck May 12.
Zhang Huibing, a physics teacher at Hongbai Township Central School, immediately started to evacuate his students when the powerful quake caused the school building to sway violently. Ten seconds later, the building collapsed. Ten of the 20 students in Zhang’s class were saved, yesterday’s Daily Sunshine reported.
Zhang was extremely calm after the quake struck, his students recalled. “Don’t be afraid. Run for the door,” he shouted. Then he propped up the door, which was quickly crushed out of shape, and pushed his students outside the classroom one by one.
“I’ve never heard of anyone who died at the threshold,” said Xuan Li, Zhang’s widow. “He was both tall and strong. He would have run out if he had not tried to save the students.
“But I understand him. He loved his students and hoped they would be able to live a better life and have a bright future,” said Xuan, sobbing.
Zhang is survived by his widow, 4-year-old daughter, his parents and parents-in-law.
He was not the only teacher at the school to lay down his life for his students.
Tang Hong, 26, was rehearsing a dance to welcome the Beijing Olympics when the quake hit. She used her body to shield three students from being crushed. The student under her left arm and another student under her bosom were pulled out alive from the rubble but Tang died leaving a 9-month-old daughter.
Wang Zhouming, 28, was another teacher who used his body to take the brunt of a tumbling concrete slab May 12. “After the tremor hit, Teacher Wang immediately held me under his bosom and shielded me with his body,” said Wang Jieying, a student who suffered injuries to her arms and face.
(Eunice Kang)