50-year-old Chinese woman plunges into lake to save drowning boy

An unlikely hero came to the rescue when an eight-year-old boy slipped while roller skating and fell into a lake.

A 50-year-old woman dived into a lake in Guizhou province to save the drowning boy in the nick of time.

The incident that occurred in Duyun town on the fourth day of Chinese New Year saw the plucky woman plunging into the icy waters, grabbing the boy and taking him to shore, reported Shanghaiist.

She then urged onlookers to take care of the boy, before hurrying off to swim to the other side of the lake. After wringing her wet shoes, she proceeded to walk home as if nothing had happened.

Local media managed to catch up with her but the publicity-shy woman declined interviews, insisting that it was a small matter, Tencent reported.

Another Chinese woman also won admiration for rushing to resuscitate a man who was pulled out of the water even though she was dressed 'differently' in Dalian last year. The nurse was in her bridal best at her pre-wedding photo shoot when the incident happened. Although her attempts failed, she won the hearts of many.

The Shanghiist article noted that there was a recent case similar to the Guizhou incident, which also saw a humble hero shying away from publicity. The Chongqing hero had dived into a freezing river to save a drowning four-year-old, but walked straight home in the shivering cold.

One grateful family was so adamant about personally thanking an unidentified man who had saved their son from drowning in a reservoir in Chengdu that they spent four years trying to find him.

In 2014, they finally found the Good Samaritan. Their son was five years old when he was saved by the man who was fishing nearby during the incident. He then left the scene after his life-saving act, without giving his name.

Related: 12,000 kids die from drowning in China each year

chenj@sph.com.sg