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[1] A 13-year-old girl in China has been dubbed a “little hero” after risking her life to save a four-year-old boy who fell into a frozen lake. It all unfolded on December 6 in a park in Tongxin County, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, in northwestern China.
[2] The boy was playing on the surface of the frozen lake when he suddenly fell into a hole, Jimu News reported. As his anxious and terrified mother stood on the bank waiting for rescue crews to arrive, a young girl approached her and offered to help. “Auntie, I am rather light. Let me go down to save him,” the girl told the woman. Then she took a pipe passed to her by some residents and crawled onto the ice. However, the girl also sank into the freezing water when a section of ice shattered.
[3] Fortunately, firefighters arrived and immediately plucked both youngsters from the icy water. The firefighters gave the girl a blanket because temperatures had plunged to minus five degrees Celsius. Before long, the girl left the scene without telling anyone her name or other personal information.
[4] A photograph of the girl taken by a passer-by went viral on Chinese social media. This prompted local internet users to search for her, dubbing her a “little hero”. The boy’s parents also hoped to find the girl to express their gratitude.
[5] Eventually, it was confirmed that she was Li Jiating, a lower secondary school pupil at Tongxin County No 2 Middle School. According to her father, when his daughter returned home that day, she sat by the stove to warm herself because her clothes were soaking wet. “When I asked her what happened to her, she just said she was near a watering cart, which sprinkled water on her,” her father said.
[6] He only discovered his daughter’s act of bravery when he saw posts about the incident online. He said he felt relieved but added that his heart ached for his daughter. “I am proud of my daughter. With the water freezing and the ice thin, she still dared to go to save a life without hesitation,” her father said.
Source: South China Morning Post, December 16
