Five delivery riders rushed into fast-moving floodwaters in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, on Friday to rescue a child who had been suddenly swept away. Working together, they successfully pulled the child to safety.
Their swift response and bravery have since drawn widespread praise online.
The incident happened on Friday afternoon as heavy rainfall struck Yuexiu District in Guangzhou, causing severe urban flooding.
On a section of road on Nonglin Street, a young boy riding a bicycle lost his balance and fell into the surging water, which threatened to sweep him away.
Seeing the emergency, several delivery riders passing by immediately rushed to his aid and worked together to pull him to safety.
"I came over to pick up an order. Just as I arrived, I saw him fall off his bicycle. I saw him choking on the water. I didn't think about anything else—I just ran over. It was extremely urgent, because most of the manhole covers had been opened. At that moment, I only thought about saving him—getting him out of there as quickly as possible, because the current was extremely fast. I intercepted him and pulled him up, then the others came over to hold him. My shoes fell off, my earphones fell off. There was no time to think about any of that—he was already choking on the water when I saw him," said Tian Hong, a delivery rider.
"At the time, my vehicle was also in the middle of the water. The water pressure was quite strong, so I quickly parked my vehicle to the side and rushed down to pick him up," said Zhao Liangjin, another delivery rider involved in the rescue.
"The first thing I did was rush to save him without a second thought. It's a very ordinary thing—I didn't think about how it might affect me or anything like that. It's just something very ordinary," said He Guoqing, one of the riders at the scene.
The delivery riders pulled the boy from the water and carried him to safety on the roadside. Fortunately, the boy was not injured and returned home safely.
Delivery riders brave floodwaters to rescue child in Guangzhou
