British diplomat saves student from drowning in Chinese river

A British diplomat could be seen in a dramatic TikTok video saving a woman from drowning in a Chinese river on Saturday morning.Stephen Ellison, the consul general in Chongqing, jumped into the river to save the 24-year-old student, who slipped into the water and passed out, the BBC reported.

“She was unconscious, she was not breathing and for a short time. We feared the worst, ”Ellison, 61, said at the outlet.

“But when we came back to the side, she started to breathe again.

The Tiktok video of the rescue was reposted on Twitter on behalf of the British Embassy in Beijing.

“We are all immensely proud of our Chongqing Consul General Stephen Ellison, who dove into a river on Saturday to rescue a drowning student and swim her to safety,” the UK government said in the tweet.

Footage shows the woman sliding off a rock and into the water, emerging face down on the ground after passing under a footbridge.

Ellison can be seen removing her shoes, jumping and leading the woman to safety with an inflatable lifebuoy that was thrown into the water.