Woman in China rushes to resuscitate girl while wearing face mask

A woman in China had just put on a face mask near her hotel's swimming pool on Feb. 10 evening when she heard someone had pulled out a drowning girl from the pool.

When the woman, surnamed Peng, noticed the girl's mother was too overwhelmed to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), she decided to take on the task, reported Fengmian News.

Without wasting time on removing her face mask, Peng immediately began compressions on the girl's chest with her hands while offering her words of encouragement: "Be brave, little sister. Once you spit out the water, you will be fine."

Approximately two minutes later, the girl's heartbeat was restored, and police officers took over her resuscitation until she spat out the water.

Peng's actions caught on camera

While Peng was rescuing the girl, her cousin, surnamed Li, took a video of the scene, reported Fengmian.

The footage was subsequently uploaded to Li's and Peng's Douyin pages.

In the videos, the girl's mother, dressed in black, and a hotel staff, dressed in white, could be seen bringing the girl, dressed in a white swimming suit, onto the pool deck.

In response, Peng, who was dressed in a green cheongsam, began performing CPR on the girl.

At the same time, the girl's mother could be seen breathing air into the girl's mouth.

When Peng noticed that the girl began spitting out water, she lifted the girl's head to prevent her from choking.

Nobody noticed girl had drowned as 'there was no splashing'

Speaking to Fengmian, Li shared that the incident took place at a hotel in the Chinese southwestern city of Xishuangbanna.

On the day of the incident, Peng and Li brought their children to the hotel's swimming pool before putting on their face masks.

Just as they were about to take a rest, they saw the girl's mother pulling the girl out from the pool, and the girl's face had already turned purple.

According to Peng, the girl's mother went into the pool to search for her child after not being able to locate her.

Before that, no one at the scene noticed the girl had drowned as they did not hear any splashing, said Peng.

Girl wasn't breathing: Li

Upon noticing the girl's condition, Li immediately called the emergency hotline and went over to check on her with Peng, reported Fengmian.

"It was an urgent situation, as we could not feel the girl breathing," recounted Li.

However, at the time, no one at the scene knew what to do, and no one responded to Li when she asked who knew how to perform CPR.

It was then that Peng decided to step up and rescue the girl, according to Fengmian.

'Instinctive response' to save girl: Peng

According to Fengmian, while Peng is not a medical practitioner, she learnt some first aid techniques from online videos to better care for her child.

"When I heard the girl's mother screaming feebly, I rushed over without thinking too much. It was my body's instinctive response based on the first aid videos I watched previously," said Peng.

Peng also shared candidly that her mind "went blank" when she was performing CPR on the girl.

"When she regained consciousness, I started to shiver, and my body went numb," recounted Peng.

Girl no longer in critical condition: hotel

After the girl spat out the water, Peng continued helping her clean her throat, mouth, and nose, reported Fengmian.

At the same time, Li stayed on the emergency hotline and relayed first aid measures from health professionals.

Eventually, the girl's parents and the police conveyed her to an ambulance, recounted Li.

The hotel also told her that the girl was no longer in critical condition as of Feb. 11 morning.

Peng hailed as hero on Douyin

Peng's video quickly went viral on Douyin, with many users praising her for her bravery, composure, and timely response in saving the girl's life.

In the comments section, some Douyin users also wittily called Peng "Mask Woman (面具侠)", highlighting how she jumped straight into saving the girl without wasting time on removing her face mask.

At the same time, however, a few commenters pointed out that Peng's CPR "was not up to standards" and urged the public to learn how to do it properly from professional first aid training centres.

In response, Peng said she accepted the criticism, adding that she has reached out to a professional training centre to learn how to conduct CPR properly.

Top images via 江南小野花 & 也辣/Douyin