A rescue in eastern China started with a shout near a bridge, and ended with a 71-year-old woman trying to avoid attention.

Liu Defang, from Suixi County in Anhui Province, was chatting with friends when she heard someone yell that a man had fallen into the water. Social media footage later showed the man had jumped in during an apparent suicide attempt.

Liu, described as a white-haired fitness enthusiast, went into the water to save him. She had learned to swim only a few years earlier after retiring from her job.

Someone threw her a rigid life preserver, which she used to reach the man and try to support him. Liu said the man resisted, but she got control of him and dragged him to shore, where locals helped her. She admitted she was exhausted after the rescue.

Afterwards, Liu tried to leave quietly. As reported by Alice Yan for the South China Morning Post, she “slipped away” hoping not to be seen.

“It was not a big deal for me. I did not tell my family for fear that they would worry about me,” Liu was quoted as saying.

Local police later released traffic camera and other surveillance footage of the rescue on social media, hoping someone would identify the woman. The video went viral on Chinese social platforms, with hundreds praising her in the comments.

One of the people who recognised her was her brother, the relative Liu had most hoped would not find out.

“My brother scolded me severely. He said, ‘You are already over 70 years old. How dare you jump into the river to save others? Why didn’t you think of the consequences?’” Liu said, adding that her daughter shared the same worries.

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