A 71-year-old grandmother who recently taught herself how to swim jumped into a river in China to save a man drowning — and then brushed off her daring rescue as “not a big deal,” according to reports.
Liu Defang was chatting with friends near a river in Suixi county in Anhui province on July 13 when she heard someone shout, “Someone has fallen into the water,” the South China Morning Post reported.
Video captured a man climbing onto the bridge’s railing before plunging into the river in an attempt to drown himself, the outlet reported.
Defang then quickly leaped into action, taking off her shoes and grabbing onto a lifebuoy before jumping into the river and swimming after the man.
“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 to local media, per the outlet.
Though the man kept trying to break free, the retiree managed to drag him to shore, the outlet reported.
After the man was pulled onto dry land by two local residents, Liu confirmed he was safe and quietly walked away from the scene of her heroic rescue.
“The rescue process lasted about 20 minutes. It was not a big deal for me. I did not tell my family for fear that they would worry about me,” Defang added.
When a video of the septuagenarian’s unbelievable save went viral on social media, police tried to track down the Good Samaritan by reviewing surveillance footage and asking the public for help.
Defang’s older brother recognized his sister in the clip — which quickly received thousands of likes and shares — and contacted police, who awarded the brave grandma, the outlet said.
“My brother scolded me severely. He said, ‘You are already over 70 years old. How dare you jump into the river to save others? Why didn’t you think of the consequences?’” Defang said.
“In those circumstances, anyone would have offered help to save the man,” she added.
The grandmother is a fitness enthusiast who practices yoga and taught herself how to swim after retirement.
Defang added that she would like to comfort the man she saved from a reported suicide attempt.
“Any difficulties will come to an end. Nothing is as important as life. Don’t give up too easily,” she said.
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