An 87-year-old woman in China accidentally slipped and fell into a river while out and about on Nov. 8, 2020.

Instead of panicking, she chose to lie on her back in the water, and calmly waited for help to arrive.

Went for a walk

According to Yangtse.com in China, the elderly woman surnamed Xie from Liling, Hunan, went for a walk alongside the river when she saw that the weather was good.

As she felt hungry along the way, she consumed a piece of mooncake she had with her.

After she had eaten, her hands could use a bit of washing and she wanted to give them a rinse by the river.

But as she could not stand firm, she fell into the river.

Public called for help

Members of the public who were passing by witnessed what happened and called for help.

Firefighters received a report at 1:45pm that day.

By that time, the elderly woman had been floating on her back for some time.

Even though the river was calm at that time, it was reported that the elderly woman was at risk of being swept away by the current that could have picked up at any moment.

Stayed calm

When the elderly woman was interviewed later on, she admitted: "I can't swim. At first I struggled hard, called for help and choked."

When she eventually ran out of energy in the water, she proceeded to lie on her back and relaxed, with her arms folded on top of her.

In this way, her body remained afloat and did not sink, and she stayed in this position until she was rescued.

Xie was taken to hospital but there was nothing wrong with her.

Online commenters who came across the news, said: "This sort of mental quality, I can't."

We deliver more stories to you on LinkedIn