Two passengers saved more than 30 people on board a coach after the driver fainted during the journey.
The coach was travelling through East China when passengers noticed the bus had dangerously swayed over to the verge of the highway.
A 45-year-old businessman, Xie Shangpan, was one of the rescuers who leapt into action when he noticed something was wrong.
In a brave move, he rushed to the driver’s seat and managed to take control of the bus, pulling it over to the side of the road before any accident could take place.
Security footage from the bus shows the driver lose consciousness and fall sideways from his seat, held in only by his seat belt.
The driver had to be revived with CPR and was sent straight to hospital after emergency services arrived.
All of the passengers were unharmed.
It was reported the bus driver, Li Ming, suffered a stroke after driving 17 hours non-stop from Pingyang, Zhejiang Province.
Mr Xie, who was taking a nap at the time, felt the bus sway and slam into the barriers at the side of the road and ran to front to take control.
Speaking to Zhejiang Radio, he said:
The bus was going zigzag like a snake. I didn’t have time to wear my shoes and ran up to see what happened.
Mr Xie along with another passenger, Wu Yueping, managed to take control of the steering wheel and brought the coach to a stop in the emergency lane.
Along with other passengers, they helped the driver off the bus as they waited for emergency services to arrive.
Me Xie said:
I felt the bus hit the crash barrier, so I thought the driver had fallen asleep and wanted to wake him up.
Then I saw the driver completely unconscious, dangling by the air. If not for his seat belt, he would’ve fallen straight onto the floor.
I was so shocked I couldn’t even make the sounds to call for help. All I wanted to do was steady the steering wheel.
We were very lucky there were no other vehicles near us during the minute the bus was out of control.
The driver, Mr Li, was sent to a nearby hospital to receive treatment, and is currently recovering from the stroke.
Mr Xie added:
About three, four passengers performed CPR on the driver until he gained consciousness and they sent him on a stretcher.
Xie and Yueping are being hailed as heroes for their courageous actions on the coach, saving more than 30 passengers who were on board.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.