Source: Yangcheng Evening News, 2013-03-03 Page A2
Written by: Yao Hao, Chu Yun, Xu Chen
Translated by: Zhang Saijia

Zheng Yilong, an armed police officer, has been missing since he jumped into the Pearl River to rescue a drowning person on the afternoon of March 1, and his life is uncertain (for more details please refer to yesterday’s report in this newspaper). After Zheng Yilong jumped into the water, another passerby joined the rescue in water, too. Yesterday, the reporters finally found this citizen, who turned out to be Lu Zhihui, Deputy Head of the Security Guards of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. During the interview with our reporter, Lu Zhihui said with deep sorrow, “My heart is full of guilt because I didn’t save his life. I’m not a hero, but he is.”

My only thought at that moment was to save their lives

According to Lu Zhihui, he was seeing off a friend to take the ferry that day. On his way back, he happened to see that the armed police officer Zheng Yilong jumped into the water to rescue a drowning person. “He (Zheng Yilong) held the drowning person in water and dragged him to the river bank”, Lu said that the drowning person seemed extremely nervous and he used every bit of his strength to grab Zheng, “I even heard Zheng telling the drowning person twice ‘relax, don’t drag me like this’. When they were two or three meters away from the wharf, they were split apart, possibly because they were out of strength and the water was too strong”. Lu Zhihui recalled that the drowning person was washed away to a place one or two meters from the river bank, but Zheng was pushed by the fast stream back to the middle of the river. “Watching these two people floating on the water with their lives being threatened, I had only one thought in my mind at that moment: to save their lives.”

After Lu Zhihui jumped into the water, he put a life ring on the drowning person who was nearer to the river bank so that other passersby could rescue him. Then he swam very quickly to where Zheng Yilong was struggling. “I already grabbed Zheng and swam back to Qinshui Wharf. Unfortunately when we were only two or three meters away from the wharf, I realized that I was severely out of strength and was no longer able to grab Zheng but saw him sink in front of me…” Lu Zhihui started to choke with sobs.

The security staff in the hospital all respect him

It is learned that Lu Zhihui, from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, is in his thirties. He has worked for more than a decade in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. His work is highly praised by leaders of the hospital and his subordinates.

"We truly see him as our big brother.” Speaking of Lu Zhihui, several security guards all gave their thumbs up. One of the security staff Li said, "Although brother Lu is the head of the security guards in the hospital and our direct leader, he never puts on airs and he is easy to get along with, so all the security staff in the hospital respect him.”

"Brother Lu is very faithful to his friends and he is popular among his friends. When his friends ask to borrow his money for emergency, he would lend them without hesitation. Whoever in the security team is in trouble, he would offer help without a second thought.” In the eyes of the security guards, Lu Zhihui, who is only 1.7m tall, is a frank and warm-hearted person who treats his work very seriously.

An Interview with Lu Zhihui —
My heart is full of guilt for not being able to save the armed police officer

"I feel very sorry about it, and I feel very awful about it.” During the interview, Lu Zhihui was unwilling to tell his full name. When he was asked too many times, he even blurted out: “My surname is Ma. That is Lu as in Malu.” The most frequent words he said during the whole interview were “sorry” and "awful”. On the face of this sturdy man from Huizhou, no excitement after this heroic rescue could be seen but only a silent and sad back.

Yangcheng Evening News: You are saying that you grabbed the armed police officer after you put a life ring on the drowning person. Is that correct?

Lu Zhihui: I already managed to grab him at that time but I still wasn’t able to save him in the end (When he was saying this, he slowed down a lot and could not help but show sorrow on his face). This cannot be changed. He is the true hero. He is the bravest. He jumped into the water to save that person first.

Yangcheng Evening News: Why did you jump into the water too, after him?

Lu Zhihui: Because we were all warm-hearted at that time. Some even took their clothes off and tied one with another. However, it still didn’t work. When I saw the armed police officer and the drowning person floating on the water, I thought I should jump into the water too. I just thought that every passerby would offer a helping hand. In such a situation, you couldn’t walk away and you would jump into the water.

Yangcheng Evening News: What do you think of it now? What will you do if this happens again in the future?

Lu Zhihui: I think the armed police officer did the right thing and we all should learn from him. Such tragedy happened, I, I mean — I feel sorry for not being able to save the armed police officer. But if it happens again in the future, I still will jump into the water to save lives.

Yangcheng Evening News: It is said that your child goes to primary school now. Did you think of your family when you jumped into the water?

Lu Zhihui: My daughter is in second grade in primary school. I didn’t have much time to think at that moment. What you can’t imagine is that when two people were floating there with their lives threatened, would you think of your personal problems? There is actually no time for you to think. You jumped to save them!

Yangcheng Evening News: Why did you leave without saying anything after you saved the drowning person?

Lu Zhihui: At that time, when I finally was about to reach the river bank, I still grabbed the armed police officer. But maybe because I was really exhausted, my fingers were losing their strength and I couldn’t control them. He began to sink just near me. Such feeling…I don’t believe you can feel what I felt at that moment. Because in the end, he looked at me and I saw that his face turned black. His eyes moved like this. I was out of strength when I got out of the water. I could only lie on my stomach. I got up after a short rest, took my clothes and left. It was so sad. It made me feel very sorry and awful for not being able to save the armed police officer. Such feeling… That’s why I feel very sorry and awful with my heart full of guilt for not being able to save him…