Chinese netizens got a laugh out of a recent video showing what appears to be a corpse floating in muddy brown waters in Maoming, Guangdong – that is, until the inert body suddenly sits up, scaring the crap out of his would-be rescuer.
The short video was shot on the afternoon of August 20, near Zhuyuan Bridge on Xiao Dong River. The footage shows a rescue team member from the Maonan police department cautiously edging out into the shallow river, moving slowly but steadily towards the 'body.'
Only the arms and head of the body can be seen as the rescuer, in an orange vest, approaches.
The rescuer leans over and grabs for the arms of the so-called corpse. But at his touch, the body in the river suddenly revives, sitting up and making a healthy, if partially naked, appearance.
To say the rescuer was surprised would be an understatement. Although we’re not close enough to make out his face, he’s obviously panicked by the unexpected reaction, jumping away from the man and making for the shore as fast as he can.
He reaches down to grab the body...
...then tries to run away when it miraculously revives.
Bystanders continue to laugh as the guy in the river looks around, then plops back into his original position.
Watch the whole thing here (VPN off):
In a statement, the Maonan police revealed that around 3pm on the 20th, they got an emergency call about a person drowning in Xiao Dong River. On arrival, they never suspected the body floating in the water would still be alive and well.
Some netizens think the whole event, and its accompanying video, are a little too conveniently staged. They say it was all a prank on police, a collaboration between the cameraman and the guy in the river and they've dubbed the latter “Zha Si Ge,” or “Fake Dead Bro.”
Others, however, contend that the setup is completely plausible. They reason that since the man was in the water with most of his head and body submerged, he might have not have been aware that a rescue team and bystanders were watching him from several feet away.
No matter what you believe, both explanations are certainly more convincing than what the man himself told police: that he was catching fish – by lying down in the river semi-nude.
Maonan police have not yet responded to netizen theories, only telling reporters that any new updates on the case will be released through its Weibo account.
The guy who started everything, meanwhile, seems to be fine. Police said that since he seemed uninjured and self-aware, he only got a telling off before being allowed to leave the scene.
[Images via Weibo]
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