A field of rice in Yangshuo, a city in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where a bus accident this week drew about 100 bystanders to help rescue a 3-year-old girl. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

HONG KONG, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A 3-year-old girl who fell and was caught under the wheel of a bus in southern China was at the center of a rescue effort that involved about 100 bystanders who tried to lift the bus off her.

The accident in Long'an, a district in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region near the border with Vietnam, occurred Wednesday, as the girl was stepping off a bus with her grandmother, The South China Morning Post reported.


South Korean news network YTN reported the driver began to maneuver the bus, unaware the child was in harm's way. By the time the driver had stopped the vehicle, after the grandmother began urgently banging on the side of the bus, she was already stuck underneath.

About 100 bystanders rushed to her rescue in an attempt to lift the bus that had crushed one of the girl's legs, state television reported.

The girl was eventually freed with hydraulic jacks and rushed to a nearby hospital by ambulance, according to Chinese state media.

The incident went viral on Chinese social media, with commenters praising those who responded. The "actions and commitment of ordinary citizens saved this child's life," one said.

The girl's leg was critically injured and she remains hospitalized, The South China Morning Post reported.