Chinese military reveals paratrooper died in Qinghai training accident

Beijing,UPDATED: Aug 11, 2026 18:38 IST

The Chinese military has said that a 24-year-old paratrooper was killed during a training accident in May in Qinghai province, adjacent to Tibet. The death was reported by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Tuesday, citing a state media report published on Sunday.

The disclosure comes amid recent reports of several accidents and deaths in the Chinese military, where such incidents have traditionally received limited or delayed public acknowledgement. The PLA has not publicly revealed the cause of this incident or another parachute-related accident that took place the next day.

According to the report, Xia Shiyuan of Huaiyuan county in Anhui province was involved in an incident shortly after leaving an airborne aircraft during a scheduled training exercise on the morning of May 27 in Golmud, Qinghai province. He fell to the ground and was taken to hospital, where he died.

In June, Xia, who joined the People's Liberation Army in 2021, was designated a "martyr" and posthumously awarded a third-class merit citation, according to a statement by Huaiyuan county authorities. His death was one of two parachute-related incidents on consecutive days that were recently made public by the PLA. The official PLA Daily said last month that air force officer Wang Rui rescued an unconscious colleague during a separate parachute training exercise on May 28 after their parachutes became entangled mid-air. Wang was awarded a third-class merit for his action.

As China pushes to modernise its armed forces, it has stepped up training in new tactics and equipment to prepare troops for the demands of modern warfare. Qinghai, where PLA troops train, lies next to Tibet and borders India. Local media also reported last month that two pilots were killed during frontline flight training exercises on June 10. They were identified as Fang Ming, 38, a senior colonel and tactical commander under the PLA Southern Theatre Command Naval Aviation unit, and Shi Shaoyong, 25, from the same unit. It remains unclear whether they died on the same aircraft or during the same mission.

The latest disclosures show that the Chinese military has recently made public a series of training accidents and fatalities, including Xia's death in Qinghai, the mid-air parachute incident involving Wang Rui, and the June 10 deaths of two naval aviation pilots.

With PTI Inputs

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