Three men on horseback ride into sea to save drowning boy in southern China

Three men rode horses into the sea to save a boy who was about to drown in southern China.

At around 7 p.m., a 12-year-old boy went swimming in the sea at Yakou Scenic Area, Longhu Town, Fujian Province.

He was swept around 200 metres away from the shore.

Three men were just passing the scene on their horses, they rode straight into the sea.

Although only one of the three could swim, they did not hesitate.

When they got near to the boy, the sea was almost up to the horses' heads.

At this time, the only person who could swim jumped off his horse and grabbed the boy to swim towards the shore.

As there was the ebb tide at the time, he and the boy were exhausted struggling in the sea, but fortunately, another man rode up to pick them up.

After more than 20 minutes, the boy was finally rescued.

One of the rescuers is a veteran who is now a coach at a racecourse.

He said that although the horses have not been trained in the sea, he did not think too much, so he rode into the sea.

A horse injured its front foot while participating in the rescue.

He said: "The horse is being treated now and there is nothing serious about it.

Just resting for a while is fine." The video was filmed on July 26 and provided by local media.