British diplomat jumps into the river to save a woman who is drowning in China | World News

A British diplomat has been hailed as a hero after he jumped into a river to save a Chinese woman who was drowning in a rescue that was filmed and then went viral on social media in China and the UK. The incident occurred on Saturday.

Stephen Ellison, 61, a consul general in Chongqing, was walking along a river in a nearby village when the 24-year-old woman slipped on rocks into deep water.

Footage filmed by onlookers showed their struggle in the stream, disappearing under a catwalk and emerging upside down, seemingly unconscious.

Ellison kicked off his shoes and rushed to save her. She has not been named, but was a student.

Critics on social media asked why so many Chinese seemed to be watching him drown from the river side instead of stepping in to save his life, but some said that very few Chinese know how to swim and others that they are afraid of becoming involved in a public incident.

Images from Ellison’s rescue mission were posted on the UK’s Twitter channel in China and generated thousands of views. Ellison is shown taking off his shoes to reveal alarming striped socks, diving into the river from the side fully clothed, capturing the woman and then throwing her a large red lifebelt which he uses to help drag her to safety along the shore of the river. River .

“We are all immensely proud,” the UK diplomatic mission in China tweeted on Monday. The diplomat himself said that the student, who is from Wuhan and attends Chongqing University, was shaken by the experience and slowly recovered.

But she was very grateful and invited him to dinner with her family the next weekend.

The Chinese Ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, praised the British diplomat and said, “I salute Stephen Ellison, the new British Consul General in Chongqing. His name will be remembered not only in the Chongqing area but in China. His act of heroism and kindness will be a much told and widely publicized story of the friendship between China and the United Kingdom. “

The hashtag “British Consul General in Chongqing saves a female student who fell into the water” had garnered nearly 40 accolades on Weibo on Monday night when news of Ellison’s bravery spread.

“For such an elderly man to save another person from the water in such cold weather, regardless of his own safety, he is a hero and a knight!” read a comment, I liked it almost 2000 times.

“Regardless of our differences … acting heroically is a virtue and should be commended,” wrote another.

Relations between the United Kingdom and China are at a low point since China ended Hong Kong’s political independence and the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei was prohibited from providing 5G networks to the United Kingdom because it could be a threat to the security.