Police officer on vacation saves over 20 people trapped in flooding

A traffic policeman in southwest China sacrificed his vacation to save more than 20 people who were trapped in flooding on July 11.

Heavy downpours hit Chengdu, Sichuan Province, on July 10 and 11, causing flooding in some areas, local news website newssc.org reported.

An auxiliary police officer, Li Ye, who was on vacation in his hometown at Xinfan Town, put on his work raincoat and grabbed some tools to join in the rescue effort once he heard news of the flooding.

From 8am to 10pm, he saved more than 20 people, including a pregnant woman, and helped evacuate more than 400 personnel in cooperation with other rescuers on scene.

The next day, he returned to his work post without telling anyone about it.

But his heroic deeds were discovered by his colleagues when watching TV news reports which captured Li's figure among local firefighters.

Li, 24, who just joined the traffic police team in May, was in the army and worked as a member of an emergency rescue team before becoming a policeman. He has also studied various rescue skills during his induction training.

Zhong Yingfang, deputy township head of Xinfan, expressed gratitude to Li in a phone interview on July 12. "He had been soaking in the water for around 14 hours during the rescue, only eating once. The rescued villagers thanked him a lot."

However, the humble man said that saving people was just because of his sense of responsibility. "I don't need applause or flowers — the only thing I care about was the safety of people."