At around 3 PM yesterday afternoon, a dull gunshot was heard by the Yangliu River in Longyan Village, Wenjiang District. A man, chased by several plainclothes police officers, jumped into the swift Yangliu River and was swallowed by the water within dozens of seconds. The police and fire department immediately conducted a dragnet search for several kilometers downstream but failed to find the man after more than three hours. According to Wenjiang police, the officers were clearing out an illegal gambling machine den in the village at the time, and the man who disappeared after jumping into the river was one of the gamblers.
At 7 PM last night, the reporter arrived at the abandoned Pansteel Bridge in Longyan Village. According to the surrounding crowd, the missing man jumped into the river from the side of the bridge. Mr. Liu from the convenience store at the bridgehead told the reporter that the incident happened around 3 PM yesterday afternoon when a sudden dull sound was heard outside. Mr. Liu and others ran out and saw several men fiercely chasing another man ahead. Among those chasing, one had a pistol raised towards the sky.
The fleeing man quickly ran to the riverside and disregarded the shouts from those chasing him. He jumped off a two or three-meter-high riverbank and directly fell into the Yangliu River. "At first, he was clinging to the shore and moving downstream, but soon he sank," Mr. Liu said. The man was seen floating up and down in the water, making it hard to identify his face. Those chasing quickly descended to the riverside and attempted to pull the man out. However, just as the submerged man reached out to the chasers trying to get ashore, he suddenly sank entirely and did not resurface.
After the man sank into the river, the plainclothes police chased far downstream along the embankment but still could not find him. About ten minutes later, the 119 firefighters arrived and searched downstream along the river, but they still hadn't found the man by nightfall.
"Searches will continue tomorrow," Wenjiang Fire Department stated. The place where the man fell into the water was only two or three miles away from the downstream dam, but despite multiple searches on the way, no trace of the man was found.
Subsequently, the reporter verified the events that occurred in the afternoon with the Wenjiang police. "The police were indeed conducting a clean-up operation at the time." The police revealed that yesterday, the local police station received reports from the public stating that there was an illegal gambling machine den in a rented house in Longyan Village. It is understood that the police are currently conducting further investigations into the identity of the man.
Reported by Chengdu Evening News journalist Cheng Pu and photographer Li Yulong at 9 PM last night.