Video: 'Hero' tourist saves drowning woman from river in China

Updated



A Swedish tourist on holiday in China has been hailed a hero after he jumped into a freezing river to save a drowning woman.

Harald Göbel, 53, was walking along the Jinjiang Bridge in Chengu on 6 December when he saw crowds gathering around, and a woman in trouble in the water.

He immediately jumped in and dragged the woman to safety - to the cheers of other tourists and locals.

According to ninemsn.com.au, Göbel told Swedish newspaper Expressen: "When I came out of the river there was thunderous applause and cheering.

"The fireman threw a life-buoy in the water but it didn't really help. She was taken by the current under a bridge and through a tunnel."

He said as soon as he saw the woman was being taken care of by ambulance crew, he headed back to his hotel room with a friend, had a shower, and relaxed in the hotel bar.

It is not clear how the woman, who was believed to be in her 50s, came to be in the river.

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