Screenshot of the video by netizen

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Recently, a video of a foreign old man diving to save a girl who fell into the river went viral on the Internet. In the video, the old man dived into the water to save the girl without hesitation and his action attracted many netizens’ praise. The 61-year-old man is new Consul General of British Consulate General in Chongqing, Stephen Ellison.

In the video taken by netizen, a girl was playing by the small river in Zhongshan Ancient Town. She slipped and fell into the water. After struggling in the water for a few seconds, she floated on the water and stopped moving.

At this time, a foreign old man passing by dived into the water to save her without hesitation. He struggled to the shore as he lifted the girl with one hand.

As the elderly saved the girl, people on the shore threw down a lifebuoy. Finally, with the efforts of all, the girl was saved safely.

New Consul General of British Consulate General in Chongqing, Stephen Ellison (Picture provided by British Consulate General in Chongqing)

The staff of the British Consulate General in Chongqing issued a related statement soon.

On the morning of last Saturday (November 14), the 61-year-old Consul General of British Consulate General in Chongqing visited Zhongshan Ancient Town, Chongqing. He suddenly heard the exclamation of the crowd and found a young girl falling into the water. The situation is very critical. Stephen Ellison immediately jumped into the water and lifted the unconscious girl out of the water. With the assistance of rescuers on the shore, the girl was safely sent ashore. Due to the timely rescue, the girl soon regained breathing and consciousness, and there was no serious harm with her.

After Ellison went ashore, he was taken good care of by the local villagers. The villagers brought him hot coffee to warm up, and asked him to put on dry clothes. Ellison thanked the villagers for their care.

According to previous interviews, although Ellison is 61 years old, he has a lot of labels. He is an engineer, a triathlon champion, a skier and a cyclist. He once drove his motorcycle across the Himalayas. He likes painting and Chinese traditional culture... In addition, he has 9 years of working and living experience in China. He also won the age group championship in the Beijing International Triathlon last year.

Ellison (the first one on the left) won the first price of the aged group in the Beijing International Triathlon last year. (Picture provided by British Consulate General in Chongqing)

As early as 2011, Ellison had been to Chongqing for work, as well as Sichuan and Yunnan. All this left a deep impression on him, “I look forward to working and living in Southwest China in the next few years,” Ellison said. (Translated by Luo Juan, Fathom Language Limited)