A grandmother used her own body to create a shield to protect her 15-month-old granddaughter from a deadly landslide in China's Sichuan province, ultimately sacrificing her own life.
Torrential rainfall in the region in recent days has caused flooding and numerous landslides, leaving at least 48 fatalities in its wake. The child and her grandmother, Pan Guofen, had been trapped for seven hours by the time rescuers arrived to extract them from the rubble. But the way this abuela sacrificed her own life for her granddaughter will make you cry…
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The rescuers believe that Guofen, who was found with a large concrete slab on her back, used her body to create an arch around her granddaughter to keep her from being crushed. Unfortunately, while the baby was saved, the grandmother suffered a fatal blow to the head by a brick.
According to local Chinese authorities, approximately 2.5 million people have been affected by the recent landslides, many of whom have had to evacuate their homes and relocate.
I'm genuinely touched by this woman's stunning example in selflessness, and thoroughly inspired by her sacrifice, and can only pray that more people like her exist in this world. Imagine the love that goes into doing this type of sacrifice for a loved one. Many of us, I hope, would probably do the same with our own. (I'm 100 percent sure I would sacrifice myself for my son.)
Hopefully, her granddaughter will go on to live a wonderful life and be forever impacted by the character and strength of her grandmother.
See some of the incredible footage of the rescues below:
Embedded content: http://youtu.be/VpOjY65up0E
Image via YouTube
