Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
HANGZHOU, June 26 (Xinhua) — Russian citizen Shahnaz Gubaidullina saved an elderly Chinese woman from drowning in the city of Shaoxing in east China’s Zhejiang Province on Monday morning.
According to local media, Shahnaz was walking on a bridge in Yuecheng District when she saw an elderly woman who had fallen into a river. Without hesitation, she jumped into the water to save the drowning woman. “I have been able to swim since I was a child, so I jumped into the river without thinking twice,” she said.
According to Shahnaz’s recollections, the elderly woman was choking on a large amount of water and was already unconscious when the Russian woman grabbed her. The girl tightly grabbed the elderly woman from behind with her arms and tried with great difficulty to reach the shore.
At this time, passers-by noticed them and extended a long rescue pole to them. With the help of passers-by, the woman was successfully rescued.
Shahnaz, who came to China in 2016 and recently graduated from Huzhou University in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, was traveling in Shaoxing when the incident occurred.
After the incident, the relatives of the rescued woman invited the girl to their place so that she could rest and change into new clean clothes that they bought for her.
“They still kept my contacts and invited me to visit them the next time I come to Shaoxing,” the Russian woman said.
The rescue process was filmed on video, which immediately went viral on social media. After that, many locals met Shahnaz.
“Kindness knows no national borders! What a responsive and brave girl,” one Internet user wrote in the comments under the post about the incident.
“Well done, Russian girl!”, “Cool!” – read the most frequent comments praising the girl and her feat.
By Monday evening, Shahnaz, who had completed her heroic deed, entered a store in the city of Shaoxing, where the shop assistants immediately recognized her. “They gave me free fruit as a token of gratitude,” the Russian woman told Xinhua News Agency.
According to Shahnaz, this is a trivial matter for her and she does not consider herself a heroine at all. “This is an event in life that can happen to anyone. I could not leave my grandmother without help… This is a natural human reaction,” the girl said.
“People in Russia are very kind and responsive. They are always ready to help,” Shahnaz emphasized.
The girl has already entered the master’s program at Huzhou University. “After graduating, I would like to find a job in China and continue my life here,” the Russian summed up. -0-