A Chinese man’s heroic rescue of a 70-year-old woman who fell into a frozen river in Northern China has earned him massive praise from netizens on local social media.
The hero, identified as 54-year-old Shi Lei, was caught on film by a passerby as he struggled to save the fallen woman in Hebei’s Baoding city on December 26, reports Shanghaiist.
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In the clip, Shi can be seen risking his own safety as he reached out to save the woman while being on thin ice. He is shown using his bare hands to smash some of the ice while pulling the woman to safety. He eventually slid in the icy waters himself and gathered his strength to lift the old woman. Another man came to their aid and both successfully saved the elder woman in the end.
The now viral footage was posted on Chinese social media platforms and soon made headlines on local media. It was not reported, however, how and why the woman fell in the first place.
Here’s a video of the daring rescue from CCTV:
Many netizens cheered for Shi’s selfless deed and courage, noting that the woman could have died if it weren’t for his quick response. Some commenters, however, criticized the person filming the incident for not participating in the rescue instead.
