A drone operator used his unmanned aerial vehicle to rescue a man who was stranded in a flooded area in Guangxi, China.
The operator was transporting belongings of residents affected by the floods that hit the country during the last week of June. The drone rescue video went viral on social media.
Lai Zhongxin, the owner of the drone, normally uses his vehicles to spray fertilizers and transport building materials, as he told Chinese television network CCTV. When he saw the man, he went for the rescue.
“Normally, using an agricultural drone to lift a person in the air is not allowed,” said Louis Liu, CEO of DAP Technologies, a consultancy specializing in aerial mobility.
“But in an emergency, if someone is about to drown, it’s something the law tends to overlook,” he added, after comparing the rescue to using an excavator to lift someone in a fire due to a lack of better alternatives.
Liu commented that it would be interesting to explore the idea of developing drones specifically for rescuing people in emergency situations. “Many in the industry are already trying this,” he observed.
In the last week of June, firefighters in the city of Shenzhen, in southern China, conducted an exercise using drones that went up and down a glass skyscraper, shooting jets of water.
Drone saves man from China’s #floods!
In Liuzhou, S #China‘s Guangxi, a man trapped by rising waters was airlifted to safety by #drone after rescue boats couldn’t reach him. #tech pic.twitter.com/RC6CMW9DQI— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) June 30, 2025
Photos: X @shanghaidaily. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
