An elderly man fainted after rescuing two people from the water and refused to accept any reward

In order to drive the goose from the pond onto the shore, a 67-year-old man went into the water and unexpectedly got entangled by aquatic plants and was unable to extricate himself. Upon hearing the news, his 64-year-old neighbor, despite being frail due to old age, dived into the water twice to save him until he lost consciousness. This incident left him with some aftereffects. Although much money has been spent on medical treatment, he refused to accept the medical expenses given by the deceased's family. On November 16, when talking about the rescue, the elderly man said, "Saving lives is a duty," and reproached himself, saying, "If I were a few years younger, perhaps I could have saved him."

Currently, the local government is studying the possibility of applying for a "Righteousness and Bravery" award for the elder who saved the life.

The Morning Post reported that the two elders, one 64 years old and the other 67, are good neighbors. After hearing about the 67-year-old man falling into the water, the 64-year-old man ran while taking off his clothes and jumped into the pond to rescue him. When the first attempt failed, he dived in again until he lost consciousness.

Although the drowning elder was ultimately not saved, the story of his neighbor's rescue effort spread throughout Chujiao County, earning widespread praise.

The rescuer is Qi Congyu, a resident of Chizhen Village, Erlangkou Town, Quanjiao County. These days, Qi Congyu can only do light work because the two dives into the pond left him with an "aftereffect" - constant weakness and coughing. After the rescue, the elderly man was hospitalized for treatment and continued to receive treatment in the village after discharge. He spent seven or eight thousand yuan on medical expenses but politely declined the medicine fee offered by the family of the drowned elder.

On November 16, when talking about the rescue, the elderly man said, "Saving lives is a duty," and regretfully stated, "If I were a few years younger, perhaps I could have saved him."

The elder encountered danger while driving geese in the pond.

On September 27, Qi Shengyu, a resident of Chizhen Village, Erlangkou Town, lost eight or nine geese. Suspecting that the water quality of the pond where the geese often swam was problematic, he paid extra attention to prevent the geese from entering that pond again. The next day, upon seeing the geese enter the pond again, Qi Shengyu rushed over.

When the geese would not come ashore, Qi Shengyu entered the pond to drive them ashore, but the geese swam further away. While driving the geese, his foot got tangled in aquatic plants, causing his body to lose balance and sink into the deep water area. Struggling, Qi Shengyu shouted loudly for help, and his wife, upon hearing and seeing this, quickly shouted for help. The cries for help reached the home of their neighbor, who lived only two or three hundred meters from the scene.

At around 6 PM on September 28, the weather had already turned chilly, and Qi Congyu was having dinner at home. After drinking two glasses of wine, he felt a bit warm.

Just as he was enjoying himself, a shout came from afar, "Something bad happened, there's trouble at the pond." Upon hearing his wife's words, Qi Congyu put down his wine glass, ran out of the house, and headed towards the pond. After running a few steps, he heard Qi Shengyu's wife shouting for help, "My husband fell into the water, hurry up and save him!"

Qi Congyu then ran while taking off his shirt.

The rescuer fainted in the cold water.

The place where Qi Shengyu fell into the water was a large pond in the village, filled with many aquatic plants.

Upon reaching the edge of the pond, Qi Congyu took off his pants and dived in.

"I saw him struggling on the surface, his feet seemed to be tangled and unable to break free." As soon as he entered the water, the warmth generated by the alcohol disappeared instantly; the water was too cold.

Qi Congyu moved towards Qi Shengyu, but within a few minutes, he felt unable to withstand the cold and had to return to the shore.

More people arrived at the edge of the pond, among them a young man who used a large basin as support and dived in. After a brief rest, Qi Congyu also dived in again. At this point, Qi Shengyu's struggles had weakened, and the two attempted to approach him, but the deep water and the aquatic plants under the water also hindered them.

"After all, I am old, and staying in the water for too long made it unbearable." Qi Congyu recalled later that while swimming towards Qi Shengyu, he gradually felt his body losing control. "I can't go on, my body may not hold up." At this moment, aquatic plants also entangled Qi Congyu, and his vision gradually blurred.

Spitting blood water at the hospital

Subsequently, Qi Congyu lost consciousness. Later, he learned that after being entangled by aquatic plants, he was dragged ashore by the next person who dived in and fell unconscious. "People gave me artificial respiration, and I woke up after half an hour." Subsequently, an ambulance arrived, and Qi Congyu was sent to the hospital. By that time, Qi Shengyu had still not been rescued.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Qi Congyu was found to have suffered significant physical damage, and during treatment, he spat several large mouthfuls of bloody water. Qi Congyu was discharged from the hospital after more than ten days of treatment.

"Later, I learned that Qi Shengyu wasn't found until around 10 PM that night, and he was already gone." Qi Congyu said that the fire personnel who arrived after hearing the news searched for an hour without success and then called in an excavator to dig a hole in the pond to release the water, which allowed them to find Qi Shengyu. However, due to the prolonged drowning, Qi Shengyu unfortunately passed away.

Polite refusal of money from the deceased's family

In mid-October, Qi Congyu was discharged from the hospital but still needed intravenous fluids at the village clinic. On November 16, during the conversation, Qi Congyu still coughed occasionally, which was a residual effect of getting chilled from diving into the water. "Even now, I still have pneumonia and inflammation, and I don't have much strength to walk," he said. Previously, he could still work outside to earn money, but now he can only do some light work at home.

"The family of Qi Shengyu expressed their gratitude by bringing medical fees to my home, but I didn't accept them. Even if the person had been saved, I couldn't take this money, let alone since the person is no longer here." Qi Congyu said.

It was understood that after Qi Congyu was hospitalized for the aftereffects, the family of Qi Shengyu visited him at the hospital. At that time, he consoled them, saying, "Your elder is gone, go back home quickly. There's nothing wrong with me."

He said, "Rescuing people is a matter of course"

After the rescue incident became known, Qi Congyu became a "celebrity" locally, and residents praised him whenever they mentioned him. It was learned that the local government is currently studying the possibility of applying for a "Righteousness and Bravery" award for him.

Faced with others' praise, Qi Congyu said: "Rescuing people is a duty, every family has difficulties, and everyone will encounter times when they need help."

Despite his frailty due to old age, Qi Congyu risked his life to save others, and his family once criticized him out of concern. "When someone else is in danger, there's no time for me to think too much." Qi Congyu believes that saving lives is a matter of course. Although his health has been affected, he still reproaches himself, saying, "If I were younger, maybe I could have saved him." Reporter Meng Qingchao