Chinese grandma, 71, saves drowning man from river before quietly slipping away
Fitness enthusiast Liu quietly slipped away in soaked clothes, hoping to avoid fanfare and worry her family
A 71-year-old grandmother in eastern China jumped into a river to save a young man who tried to drown himself because of his relationship problems, winning widespread admiration on social media.
The man was filmed on July 13 climbing onto a bridge’s railing before decisively jumping into a river in Suixi county in Anhui province, the Anhui Daily reported.
Liu Defang, a white-haired retiree, was chatting with friends near the bridge when she heard someone shouting, “Someone has fallen into the water!”
Liu quickly ran to the riverbank and took off her shoes. She caught a lifebuoy thrown to her by a woman nearby and jumped into the water without hesitation, the report said.
“I initially thought it was a little kid, so I felt very anxious. As I swam near him and grabbed his arm, I found he was a man in his 30s,” Liu recalled, according to the report.
The man apparently did not want to live. He tried to break free from Liu, but she held him tightly.