Chinese netizens honor jet director as 2012 hero

BEIJING - Web users honored the deceased production director of China's homegrown fighter jet as a hero of 2012 at an awards ceremony on Tuesday.

Luo Yang, production head of China's new J-15 fighter jet, had a heart attack after days of observing landing tests for the J-15 aboard China's first aircraft carrier. He died in the hospital on Nov 25, 2012, at the age of 51.

The nine other award-winners include Zhang Lili and a group of construction workers in Beijing.

Zhang is a middle school teacher in Northeast China who lost her legs while saving two students from an oncoming bus on May 8, 2012.

The workers rescued 182 passengers trapped in a disastrous flood that hit the Chinese capital on July 21, 2012.

The annual selection, the third of its kind since 2010, was administered by Xinhua News Agency-affiliated www.news.cn. It has become a major platform for recognizing Good Samaritans and grassroots heroes in China.

A total of 80 million Chinese netizens voted for 60 candidates in the 2012 selection last month, according to a previous statement from the organizer.