Taking out his son's photo, the father's eyes reddened again.
Relatives were unable to accept the tragic news.
Auntie came to the riverbank to pray for Zhou Xin.
Winter has already set in, and the cold air in Kunming at dawn was biting. Yesterday at dawn, on the Panlong Riverbank near Taoyuan Street in Kunming, 23-year-old bar waiter Zhou Xin, upon seeing someone fall into the water, didn't hesitate. He quickly took off his outer clothing and bravely jumped into the river, bringing a bit of warmth to the woman in the river. Unfortunately, Zhou Xin disappeared into the river with its swaying aquatic plants. When he was fished out of the water, his heart and breathing had already stopped.
Upon hearing that their son had lost his life while acting courageously, the parents were overwhelmed with grief. What chilled them even more was that the rescued woman still reeked of alcohol and never once said "thank you" to Zhou Xin's parents or the deceased. Her friend told the reporter, "We don't want to give interviews, and we won't say anything!"
Parents:
Proud of their son but deeply hurt
Zhou Xin, male, 23 years old, worked as a waiter at a bar on Taoyuan Street and lived at Yunnan Feng Paper Factory in Haikou, Kunming. He was an only child; his father is 54 years old, and his mother is 50, both retired.
Half a year ago, Zhou Xin came to Kunming and temporarily stayed at a relative's home. He then applied for a job at the bar, becoming a waiter without weekends. He started work every day at around 5:30 PM and left the bar at dawn, earning a monthly salary of 1200 yuan.
In his father's eyes, his son was an honest person who wouldn't cause trouble outside, giving his family peace of mind. In his mother's eyes, her son was very filial. To his relatives and friends, Zhou Xin was well-educated and polite. To his boss and colleagues, Zhou Xin was hardworking and warm-hearted...
The night before last, after finishing his shift, Zhou Xin rode his motorcycle back home and told his mother, "I just wanted to come back and see Dad and Mom!" That noon, the mother made him chicken stew and braised pork. At around 5:30 PM, Zhou Xin returned to the bar and called his mother, saying, "I've arrived! Thank you, Mom. Lunch was so comforting."
At around 4:40 AM yesterday, the phone suddenly rang, waking up Zhou Xin's mother. Could it be her son calling? Upon picking up the phone, she heard a strange voice. The caller identified himself as a police officer and informed her that Zhou Xin had died while saving someone. Unable to believe it, she asked again for confirmation, and her heart couldn't hold back the sorrow as she burst into tears. The father took the phone and asked once more, tears falling from the eyes of this middle-aged man who had weathered countless storms.
The reporter met Zhou Xin's parents and relatives in the sixth-floor meeting room of the Gulou Police Station of the Panlong Public Security Bureau, more than six hours after Zhou Xin's body was retrieved from the river. The atmosphere in the meeting room was somber, with relatives grieving and tears streaming down their faces. Zhou Xin's mother kept crying, continuously wiping away the tears rolling out of her eyes with tissues, saying, "Son, how could you leave us like this? How will we go on, zzfhhxy369_Baidu Space?"
Outside the meeting room door stood the rescued woman in a white shirt, slightly overweight, and her friend in a green shirt. Even in their breath, one could still detect a strong smell of alcohol. Faced with the reporter's inquiries, the woman in white remained silent. The woman in green beside her said, "We won't give interviews, and we won't say anything."
The reaction of the rescued woman afterward chilled Zhou Xin's parents and relatives to the bone. The two elders said, "Our son lost his life because of her, yet she didn't say a single word of thanks, nor did she apologize. She showed no reaction at all, which is truly heartbreaking!"
Witnesses:
The young man who saved her was already dead when retrieved
Ms. Yang, a guest at the bar at the time of the incident, recounted what happened.
At around 1:30 AM yesterday, two women and several friends gathered at a bar on Taoyuan Street. Among them, the woman in green had been drinking before arriving and seemed very agitated due to losing 1000 yuan. The two women and their friends ordered a case of beer. By around 3 AM, the two women inexplicably began arguing inside the bar, and their argument escalated until they moved outside. Ms. Yang and Zhou Xin tried to mediate.
"They said, 'If you're going to jump, let's both jump!'" Ms. Yang said. At around 3:40 AM, the woman in green suddenly ran into the bar, shouting loudly for help, "Someone jumped into the river!" Zhou Xin rushed out, and Ms. Yang followed him to the riverside. Seeing the woman in white struggling in the water, Zhou Xin took off his coat, handed his phone to Ms. Yang, and jumped into the river.
"It might have been the aquatic plants that entangled Zhou Xin, and soon he disappeared underwater." Then, a male colleague of Zhou Xin and a tall male customer arrived at the riverside. They saw Zhou Xin's hand emerge from the water and tried to pull him out by stepping on the light pipes along the shore, but they were just short of reaching him. Soon, Zhou Xin vanished completely.
At this moment, the drowning woman clung to some aquatic plants near the shore and cried for help, "Save me, save me!" With the combined efforts of everyone and the police, the woman in white was successfully rescued.
Recalling this, Ms. Yang choked up, "About ten minutes later, Zhou Xin was retrieved from the water. After checking his heartbeat via an ECG, medical personnel from the 120 emergency services confirmed that his breathing had stopped. His eyes were still open at that time."
A colleague who helped rescue Zhou Xin and Mr. Li, another witness at the scene, said, "It was very cold! When the woman was rescued and brought ashore, knowing that Zhou Xin had already died, she showed no reaction at all, it was truly... "
Scene:
Two meters deep, many aquatic plants
At around 11 AM, at the Panlong Riverbank, the reporter saw that the riverbank had railings, about two meters high above the water surface. Below the railing were light tubes, one of which had broken during the rescue attempt and protruded upward. There were many aquatic plants in the water, swaying continuously with the current.
According to nearby residents, the river was over two meters deep. Looking at the river surface, Zhou Xin's father said, "My son grew up by Dianchi Lake and was a good swimmer. This accident must have been caused by the aquatic plants entangling him."
Police:
Mediation will continue today
Officer Wang from the Gulou Police Station described the process of responding to the emergency call. According to him, they received the dispatch order at around 4:10 AM and immediately proceeded to the scene. At that time, a police officer from the Xiaonanmen Police Station of the Wuhua Public Security Bureau was already in the water searching for the missing person. The officers threw life rings and ropes, and used steel bars about four to five meters long from a nearby construction site to search through the aquatic plants. Using flashlights, they spotted a hand and eventually pulled the missing person out of the water onto the shore. They performed artificial respiration, chest compressions, and water drainage on him. A few minutes later, after examination by medical personnel from the 120 emergency services, his heartbeat had stopped, confirming his death.
Why did the woman jump into the river? The police explained that it was probably due to an argument between the two women. The rescued woman, Yang Fen (a pseudonym), is 24 years old. The bar owner, Ms. Wang, said that Yang Fen had visited the bar two or three times before. Meanwhile, the police also mentioned that Yang Fen frequently entered and exited bars after graduating from a vocational school.
Yesterday, the police organized negotiations between the deceased's family and the rescued woman and her family.
Due to the reactions of the rescued woman and her family, yesterday's mediation failed to proceed. As the Zhou family put it, "Our son lost his life while acting courageously, but all we got was indifference from the rescued woman. It's simply 'impossible to communicate' further."
The police stated that they would conduct another round of mediation this morning.
Reported by journalist Lü Shicheng and intern Hao Tianxi with photography.