Heroic and tragic are the only words to describe what unfolded in Jiangsu Province in the past few days, as a drowning boy was saved by a man who would ultimately lose his life in doing so, assisted hands on in the effort by non other than the local Party Secretary.
过去几天，江苏省发生的事情只能用英雄和悲壮来形容，一名落水男孩被一名最终失去生命的男子救起，而救人的正是当地市委书记。
On the afternoon of 3 June, a 14-year old boy was playing on the Longwang Shan reservoir embankment in Mudian Town of Xuyi County in Jiangsu’s Huai’an City. The boy then ventured out to an elevated gazebo some 40 metres from the shoreline to, inexplicably, fall into the reservoir.
6月3日下午，一名14岁男孩在江苏淮安市盱眙县穆甸镇龙王山水库堤岸上玩耍。随后男孩冒险来到距离海岸线约 40 米的一个高架凉亭，然后莫名其妙地掉进了水库。
That’s when Qiao Jun (37), who was riding by on an electric tricycle, stopped to help. Hearing that someone had fallen into the water, he jumped into the reservoir and swam towards the lad without saying a word.
这时，骑着电动三轮车经过的乔军（37岁）停下来帮忙。听到有人落水，他二话不说，跳进水库，向小伙子游去。
Making it out to the boy, Qiao began his return holding the boy to the surface as much as possible. But it was tiring work in the 10-metre deep waters.
找到男孩后，乔开始返回，尽可能地将男孩抱到水面。但在10米深的水域里工作是很累人的。
That’s when the local Party Secretary stepped in, literally. Out inspecting some straw that had been burning nearby, Wang Zhigang, Secretary of the Party General Branch of Longwang Shan Village of Mudian Town, rushed to the scene after hearing the news.
就在这时，当地党委书记介入了。穆甸镇龙王山村党总支书记王志刚在检查附近焚烧的秸秆时，闻讯赶到现场。
Wang wasted no time in joining Qiao in the reservoir’s waters. Qiao was then able to push the boy to him, whereupon Wang worked with local firefighters to get the boy ashore.
王立即赶到水库水域与乔会合。随后，乔某将男孩推到身边，王某与当地消防员合作，将男孩救上岸。
But now Qian himself was in difficulty, exhausted from his heroic rescue. Police and firefighters took a rubber dinghy out to search for him, while at the same requesting assistance from the Xuyi Blue Sky Rescue Team for help.
但现在钱自己也陷入了困境，他因英勇救援而疲惫不堪。警方和消防人员乘坐橡皮艇出海搜寻，同时向盱眙蓝天救援队求助。
When they got to him, Qiao was face down in the water. Despite rushing him to hospital for emergency treatment, Qiao died soon after, having been in the water too long.
当他们赶到时，乔正脸朝下浸在水里。尽管将乔紧急送往医院抢救，但由于在水中呆得太久，乔很快就去世了。
The rescued boy would later tell his grandfather that Qiao had lifted lifted him out of the water three times, repeatedly choking on the water.
获救的男孩后来告诉他的祖父，乔曾三度把他从水中拉出来，多次被水窒息。
Bringing ¥30,000 in condolences to Qiao’s home, the boy’s grandfather told the Yangtze Evening News he was quite prepared to be beaten up when he went there. He need not have worried.
男孩的爷爷带着3万元到乔家慰问，他告诉扬子晚报，他已经做好了挨打的准备。他不必担心。
Qiao’s mother, 72-year-old Li Cuiping, resolutely refused to accept the money, but ultimately gave in to the persuasion of relatives, friends and village cadres. “My son has gone now. I just hope that the rescued teenager’s parents will raise their son well”, she said.
乔的母亲、72岁的李翠萍坚决不收这笔钱，但最终在亲友和村干部的劝说下屈服了。 “我的儿子现在已经走了，我只希望获救少年的父母好好抚养儿子”，她说。
Interested readers can watch surveillance camera footage of the boy’s fall into the reservoir and Qiao’s heroic efforts to rescue him via this link.
有兴趣的读者可以通过此链接观看男孩掉入水库的监控录像以及乔英勇救人的画面。
