River dip for jolly jumpers

By Liang Yiwen  |   2008-6-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

SIX foreign men jumped into the Huangpu River for fun early Sunday morning, and got to shore more quickly than they expected - with the help of the Shanghai border police.

At 6am Sunday, a border police officer surnamed Zhang who was patrolling the Bund area heard a flop in the water. He traced the sound and found six foreign men and two foreign women at the Bund's flood wall. The six young men were half naked and were splashing in the water in front of the women.

Zhang realized that the tide would soon rise and it would be dangerous for them to stay in the water. It would be impossible for them to climb back up the flood wall.

He boarded a border boat and called them to get to shore. Zhang informed them of the danger and they promised that they would never swim in the river again. "Most people jump into the river to commit suicide, and it is a very rare case to jump for fun," he said.