Man drowns after plunging into frozen lake to save children in eastern China
The 65-year-old raced over to help the boy and girl, aged 7 and 9, when he heard them shouting from the water
A 65-year-old man has drowned after he jumped into a frozen lake to rescue two children in eastern China, state media reports.
Zhang Chonghua rushed from his home when he heard the children shouting for help in the village of Luxiang, Jiangsu province, China News Service reported on Wednesday.
It was minus 7 degrees Celsius (19 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday when Zhang plunged into a hole in the four-metre deep lake to help the boy and girl, aged seven and nine.
The children had fallen in while playing nearby, according to the report. Other villagers and police officers also jumped in to help.
But after the children were safely pulled from the lake, Zhang was exhausted and unable to stay afloat. The villagers tried to help him but he had stopped breathing when they dragged him from the lake and could not be resuscitated.
