Beijing man drowns while trying to save his dog, which survives

A middle-aged man in Beijing lost his life while trying to rescue his playful dog, which fell into a moat.

According to Sina, the incident happened on the morning of August 7, at around 10.30am, along the bank of Zuoanmen Bridge Moat.

An eyewitness said the 59-year-old dog owner riding a motor tricycle arrived at the moat around 10am and he had two small dogs in the back seat.

He carried his two teddy dogs out, and one was grey while the other was brown.

The dogs were playing and barking right by the guardrails and the grey dog fell into the river through a gap between the rails.

Hurriedly, the owner stripped down to his underwear and jumped into the water to save his dog.

He tied one end of his belt to the guardrails and held onto it while wading into the water which came up to his chest then.

The dog was about one metre away, but it swam further, prompting the man to move further into the river.

At that moment, the belt slipped from the guardrail and the man slipped towards the centre of the river.

The eyewitness saw him choking on the water and it was then he realised the man was unable to swim.

No one nearby could swim so they ran to the nearby Longtanhu Fire Station Detachment for help.

Nine firefighters with life jackets and life buoys rushed to the scene, but the man had already sunk into the water.

Firefighters recovered the man's body before rescuing the grey dog which was still treading water.

The firefighter squadron commander said the man's "neck was purple, his belly had swollen up, and he was no longer breathing".

The man also did not respond when CPR was administered.

According to the drowned man's family members, he "normally loved dogs as much as his own life".

The dead man, who had a slightly disabled left arm, was single and lived alone with his dogs who made him happy.

The river was over three metres deep.

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