China is mourning the loss of two young firefighters who fell hand-in-hand to their deaths while battling a 13th floor apartment blaze in Shanghai.

A member of the public captured the tragic moment the pair were swept away from a balcony as they tried to extinguish the fire, the Daily Mail reports.

Liu Jie, 20, was pushed towards the balcony by a sudden explosion before his colleague Qian Lingyun, 23, tried to grab his hand and save his life.

However, the weight was too much for him to hold, and the pair were pulled from the apartment and fell to the pavement below.

Fire brigade spokesman Jian Ku said: ‘Firemen always watch each other’s backs, they look after each other, this tragic death shows the strength of that bond between colleagues.

‘Guarding one another in life, inseparable in death.’

Qian Lingyun and Liu Jie: China firefighters fall to their deaths in Shanghai | Metro News.