China son calls mum to say he ‘might not return’ while saving driver from burning truck

A young Chinese man who risked his life to save a driver from a burning truck, called his mother during his heroic act to tell her that he “might not return”.The actions of Zhang Jian, 24, who is from eastern China’s Shandong province and was on his way home from central China’s Shanxi province at the time of his intervention, have moved many people online.While passing through the Baotashan Tunnel, Zhang saw a burning truck. Two people were next to the vehicle, one was seriously injured and the other was waving for help.The truck, above, was burning fiercely when Zhang arrived on the scene. Photo: QQ.comTogether with his ride-hailing passenger, Zhang decided to immediately stop the car in the billowing smoke and carry the injured man into his car.They discovered that there had been a rear-end collision, and the two men were drivers of the cars involved.As they could not get the injured driver’s leg completely into the car, Zhang had to drive the initial 10 minutes with his front door open.As a result, dense smoke flowed into his car. They poured drinking water on their bodies to buy time.Zhang then learned from the injured man that the tunnel was over 10km long. He was driving extremely slowly during the rescue.Thick, black smoke billows from the 10-kilometre-long tunnel, above. Photo: QQ.comAt one point they stopped the car to move the man inside and closed the door. Zhang turned on the air conditioner to help disperse the smoke.However, Zhang said he was slipping in and out of consciousness himself and his breathing was becoming difficult. They still had about 5km to go and the tunnel was dark.Desperate, Zhang called his mother and told her: “I am trapped in the Baotashan Tunnel. If I do not call you in two hours, I might never leave this tunnel.”An ambulance, above, was waiting at the tunnel’s exit to take the injured man to hospital. Photo: QQ.comZhang has a 15-month-old daughter and his mother said the baby was what occurred to her immediately.Further ReadingShe was worried about him, but pretended to be calm and comforted him that things would be fine.Zhang said he was also thinking of his daughter, but got too emotional to ask his mother to look after her.Zhang and his other two passengers cheered each other up along the way and they finally escaped the tunnel alive.“When I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, I thought to myself: ‘It is good to be alive’,” Zhang said.The ambulance and traffic police were waiting for them at the exit of the tunnel.Zhang left without receiving treatment and drove his passenger to his destination in Hebei province in northern China before returning to Shandong.The Shanxi traffic police said the injured driver’s life was not in danger.Officials, above, presented Zhang, centre, with a banner and a cash prize for the bravery he showed. Photo: QQ.comThe man’s family called Zhang to thank him for “saving his life and his family”. Zhang said he would “do it without hesitation if I were to do it all over again.”On April 20, Zhang’s hometown government awarded him the title of “Model of Righteous and Courageous Acts” and a prize of 10,000 yuan (US$1,500).“I was moved to tears. Such a good lad,” said one online observer.“It is great that they all survived. It is true that good things happen to good people,” another said.“Next time when you see a burning car in a tunnel, turn back or use the emergency exits. It is dangerous to drive towards it,” said a third.