Mr Ban, who is a father, noticed a group of children mucking about on the frozen lake near Luoyang City, China, and one of the youngsters plunged through the ice
A brave dad rushed to save the life of a young boy who fell through ice on a frozen lake.
Mr Ban needed rescuing himself after grabbing the boy and lifting him to safety. The father, who has recovered from his own injuries sustained in the rescue, has now been lauded as “a hero”.
The youngster plunged through the ice when he and friends were playing on the lake, ignoring their parents’ warnings against this behaviour. Mr Ban, who noticed the horror unfold as he playe nearby with his daughter, lay horizontally across the icy surface to distribute his weight to scramble the boy to safety.
But the courageous witness fell through the ice himself and, after he was freed from the water in Luoyang City, China, spent half an hour in a hot shower to revitalise himself.
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The boy has also recovered from his injuries following the accident, which happened on Thursday January 29. Speaking today, Mr Ban said: “My first feeling when I fell into the water was an icy chill that went straight to my bones. My legs were instantly enveloped in cold with stinging sensations. I was a little bit scared.”
The dad said he was aware how to save the child, having watched rescue videos online in his spare time. So, he leapt into action to break the ice with his hands and rescue the little boy.
But he does not believe he is worthy of the tag “hero”. Mr Ban, who is already back at work, continued: “I still can’t accept this title. To me, I just did something that most people would do. I just happened to be there at the time.” He has also received praise from strangers online, who have seen videos the rescue.
The case follows the tragedies of brothers six-year-old Howard, eight-year-old Kaleb, and EJ, nine, who plunged through ice on the pond off Recreational Road in Bonham, Texas, and were later declared dead. Cheyenne Hangaman, the boys’ mother, jumped into the water but was tragically unable to save her children last month.
The mum said: “I tried to save them while also trying to keep myself alive. As soon as I jumped in, I locked up. I couldn’t do anything.” Other have-a-go heroes and emergency service personnel also dived into the pond.
Kaleb and EJ were hauled from the water but declared dead minutes later. Police in Texas said Howard, the youngest of the brothers, “did not resurface but was later recovered after an extensive search of the pond”.