Firefighters search downstream of the channel where the child fell into the water. Photo by reporter Wang Zhi.
Baoji, Shaanxi - At 5:40 PM yesterday, two boys around five years old were playing by the edge of the Yingwei Channel in Baojixia when one of them, surnamed Fang, accidentally fell into the nearly four-meter-deep water. Upon hearing the cries for help, five trainees learning to drive nearby jumped into the water one after another. After more than twenty minutes of rescue efforts, the boy was saved, but two of the trainees failed to make it back to shore.
Two rescuers missing after saving others
At around 9:00 PM last night, I arrived at the scene of the incident where over thirty firefighters were searching along the bank of the channel. Several local villagers were also preparing rescue supplies and equipment.
Yan Gaie from Fengjiayacun Village in Jintai District of Baoji said that at 6:00 PM, she happened to pass by a small bridge at the Daijiawan section of the Yingwei Channel in Baojixia. She saw two little boys playing with a stick by the water on the steps leading down to the bottom of the channel. As she approached, one of the boys suddenly fell into the water. She immediately shouted: "Help! A child has fallen into the water!" Hearing her cries for help, more than ten trainees at the nearby Baoji Jinghua Driving School training ground rushed to the edge of the channel immediately, and some of the nearby villagers also ran over.
Zhang Xiao, who witnessed the rescue, said: "Seeing the little boy floating on the surface of the water, five trainees started taking off their clothes while running, and soon two of them jumped into the water, while the others tried to pull the child out with branches, but were unsuccessful." According to Zhang Xiao's introduction, more than ten people formed a human ladder, holding hands and lowering three other trainees into the water from the bank of the channel. Due to the extremely cold weather and not knowing the depth of the water, the five trainees slowly approached the little boy following the current. The three trainees at the end of the human ladder eventually caught the little boy about 500 meters away. With the help of the crowd on the shore, they finally managed to save the drowning little boy. Three of the trainees were pulled up, two of whom were rescued by the firefighters of the Third Company of the Baoji Fire Brigade who arrived in time. "However, the other two rescuing trainees have disappeared without a trace."
According to Huang Chuanding, a trainee from the Jinghua Driving School who participated in the rescue, when they heard someone shouting for help, they rushed over immediately. The child was held by another trainee and lifted onto the shore by him. After getting ashore, he and a female trainee took the child to the hospital together. Currently, the drowning boy is out of danger.
More than 300 people search for the heroes who saved others
The father of the rescued little boy, Fang Ming, was also at the search site. He said that his home is less than 500 meters from the Yingwei Channel in Baojixia, just a slope away. At 5:50 PM, they discovered that their five-year-old child had gone missing, never expecting that the child had gone to play by the Yingwei Channel with a neighbor boy. When they reached the edge of the Yingwei Channel, the child had already been saved. He is now very anxious and hopes that those who saved the child will be safe.
Deputy Chief of Staff Yang Zhijun of the Baoji Fire Brigade said that at 6:05 PM, they received an emergency call and immediately sent personnel to the scene for rescue operations. At the same time, they instructed the Chencang Fire Brigade to intercept and assist 20 kilometers downstream.
Currently, the identity of one of the missing rescuers has been confirmed as Feng Junzheng, a trainee from the Jinghua Driving School, born in 1977, from Qian County. The identity of the other person is still being determined.
Wang Jianmin, the standing deputy district chief of Jintai District, stated that the government would spare no expense and do its utmost to find the rescuers. Currently, a search team consisting of over 300 people from fire services, armed police, public security, and surrounding communities has been organized, conducting uninterrupted searches 24 hours a day. If there are no results, more people from all departments along the route will be organized today to join the search team.