WATCH: Chinese uncle smashes ice with his bare hands to rescue old woman from frozen river

After spotting the woman, he wasted no time and rushed out into the icy water

A Chinese uncle is being cheered online for his courageous rescue of an elderly woman who had fallen into an icy river.

In footage filmed by a passerby in Hebei’s Baoding city, 54-year-old Shi Lei is seen rushing out into the river and using his bare hands to smash the ice and slowly pull the woman back to shore with the help of another man.

You can watch video of the rescue below:

Watch on QQ video

While netizens have applauded Shi for his “warm heart” and bravery, they have also wondered just what the 70-year-old woman was doing out in the frozen river and why the person filming the rescue didn’t think to also lend a hand.

A short time later, another rescue took place in the nearby city of Tangshan after a man fell into a lake while ice fishing. This rescue was carried out by firefighters.