- A disabled man in China was filmed trying to alert a shop about a fire before an unexpected blast sent him flying and left him seriously injured
- The video of the disabled man’s attempt to help has been viewed more than nine million times on Douyin alone
A disabled Chinese man has been hailed as a Good Samaritan after receiving a severe brain injury in an explosion while trying to warn a store owner of a fire risk.
On February 21, a man with a slight limp because of a disability was passing a store selling batteries in northwestern China’s Shaanxi province and saw thick smoke coming out of the front.
He went to the storefront and tried to open the door, hoping to alert the owner to the smoke, but found it locked.
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Surveillance footage from the street showed what happened next. The man was struck by an explosion of such force that the door was blown open, and the man was knocked back before landing on the ground and hitting the back of his head, visibly bleeding, Jiupai News reported.
The man, whose identity remains unclear, was not taken to a hospital immediately after the accident as he did not appear seriously injured, according to a friend in the media report. However, a day later, he frequently vomited blood and subsequently went to a hospital.
“He rested for a day, but his situation didn’t improve,” said the friend. “He didn’t eat or drink anything, and no one looked after him. So he had to go to the hospital to check it out.”
The man was later diagnosed with bleeding on the surface of his brain. The media report did not mention his condition or if he was still in the hospital.
The owner of the battery store said he went out that morning and wasn’t aware of the smoke or resulting blast until he returned to find police and firefighters at his store.
“I didn’t know that the disabled man tried to alert me. He and his friend have not contacted me yet,” said the store owner.
The video of the disabled man’s attempt to help has been viewed more than nine million times on Douyin alone.
“Disability does not hide kindness,” one person commented.
“I am praying he will be safe and sound at last. I hope he can stay healthy and safe all his life,” another person said.
“Good Samaritans deserve a good life without any accident. I pray for him,” said a third person.
One person pointed out that the man had experienced bad luck in life: “This made me sad. He’s already got leg problems. Now God added misfortunes on him.”
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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