Millions in China have been moved by a man who swam for three hours through floods to check on his parents’ status.
The floods in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, caused by torrential rains and a number of dam collapses, have reportedly left 39 people dead and affected nearly 400,000 residents.
From July 3 to 6, cumulative rainfall in Guangxi’s southern region reached 400 mm to 600 mm, with Qinzhou city receiving over 800 mm of precipitation.
On July 6, a 30-year-old man surnamed Xie, swam for three hours clutching a tyre to check on his parents in a village in Qinzhou. He was accompanied by a friend.
Xie and his two siblings live in town while his parents live in a village 10 km away.
During the previous night, Xie’s mother had called him saying his father had gone to secure the rice he had harvested earlier. However, he had not returned, and she was worried about him.