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Almost a drama in Zhongshan village near Chongqing city in China. A video that went viral on social media shows a student, 24, from Wuhan almost drowned in a river last Saturday. It slides over rocks and falls into deep water.
People scream at each other, the cameraman runs to the bank of a river and films the student floating helpless in the water threatening to drown. It can barely stay afloat and continues to dive. Suddenly he disappears under a bridge and shortly after appears on the other side, motionless.
Shortly after, however, help approaches: Stephen Ellison (61), British Consul General of Chongqing, is currently walking along the river, does not hesitate, takes off his shoes and jumps into the water with his clothes. Swim to the student and save her from certain death. A life jacket is thrown at him so that he can carry himself and the student ashore.
Few Chinese know how to swim
Since Saturday’s save, the topic has been clicked 170 million times on Weibo’s short message service. Speaking to the BBC, Ellison said: “As soon as we got to the limit, he started breathing again, which was a great relief.” A few hours later he and the student went out and took pictures.
As “The Guardian” writes, the student is slowly recovering from the accident. She is very grateful and invited Ellison to dinner with her family this weekend.
Social media debates why so many people looked but didn’t help. Possible explanations for this behavior: Some users say that relatively few Chinese people can swim. Others suspect that the public was afraid of being involved in this incident.
Stephen Ellison is a hero
Ellison is celebrated as a hero. The British Embassy announced on Twitter: “We are proud of our Chongqing Consul General Stephen Ellison, who dived into a river on Saturday to rescue a drowning student and bring her ashore.”
The Chinese ambassador to Great Britain, Liu Xiaoming (64), praised Ellison: “His name will be remembered not only in the Chongqing area, but throughout China. His act of heroism and kindness will be a well-told and widespread story of friendship between China and Great Britain. “ (myi)
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