A foreign teacher working at Chengdu University of Science and Technology in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province, saved eight quake victims three years ago, but his Chinese colleagues only recently found out about his heroics.

Matt Ryan, who moved from Britain to Chengdu in 2002, joined rescue efforts after the earthquake hit Wenchuan, Sichuan province, on May 12, 2008.

Risking their lives under the threat of aftershocks, Ryan and two other foreigners walked for 11 hours to quake-hit Dabao township in Pengzhou city (a county-level city governed by Chengdu) and pulled eight people from the quake ruins between May 13 and 18. After the rescue work, Ryan said nothing to his colleagues.

A few days ago, when one of Ryan's Chinese colleagues searched his name online, he found a report in a British newspaper and read about his heroic act.

People were moved by the story but Ryan simply said he did what he could with his rescue skills and experience.

(West China Metropolis Daily)