Frozen fish collector saved from beneath ice

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-19 08:55

A young woman who fell into the Songhua River was rescued by passers-by in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Sunday.

The woman, surnamed Wang, fell through a thin layer of ice about 20 m from the riverbank as she collected frozen fish.

A few passers-by immediately approached the site, but fearing a similar plunge, kept a few meters distance and called a medical rescue service.

At that moment, Zhao Xishan and Xu Yanhe, two fishermen returning to a nearby dock, tried to break up the ice with their sampan.

But their manually powered boats could not break through.

When another fishermen Wang Xiaotong started his motor boat, he found it was frozen in tight after being docked for a few weeks.

Eventually, people hurried over with tools and freed the vessel, allowing Wang to steer 300 m through to save the woman.

She was released after a few hours in a local hospital.

(Harbin Daily)