A 29-year-old volunteer died of heart failure caused by overexertion after carrying supplies on foot to villages cut off by flooding in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

According to domestic media, Dang Xinrui collapsed July 14 while returning from Heyuan Village in Hengzhou, where he and other volunteers had spent six hours carrying about 15 kilograms of medicine, vegetables, and other supplies along flood-damaged routes.

His death has prompted an outpouring of tributes online, with many praising Dang for leaving a vacation in neighboring Yunnan province to join the relief effort.

Flooding triggered by Typhoon Maysak beginning July 6 washed away roads and bridges across parts of Guangxi, cutting off villages and communities. As of July 9, authorities had reported 39 deaths, nine people missing, and at least 375,000 residents affected.

With vehicles unable to reach some areas, hiking enthusiasts from across China formed volunteer teams to carry supplies on foot, sometimes trekking for as long as 10 hours.

Dang, an operations controller at Meishan East Railway Station in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, had taken up hiking about a year earlier. He was on annual leave in Yunnan when he saw appeals for volunteers and traveled to Guangxi to join the relief effort.

He and his teammates set out from a supply depot at 5 a.m. on July 14 and hiked six hours to Heyuan Village. After eating porridge offered by villagers and resting for less than 30 minutes, they began the return journey.

On the way back, Dang became dizzy but continued for another 300 meters before collapsing. His teammates performed CPR while waiting for rescue teams.

Flood-damaged roads prevented an ambulance from reaching the site, forcing medical workers to carry emergency equipment on foot for more than 20 minutes. They arrived at 6:04 p.m., but Dang was pronounced dead after more than three hours of resuscitation efforts.

“These volunteers spent 2,000 to 3,000 yuan ($300 to $450) of their own money to travel here from all over China,” one villager told domestic media. “They didn’t know us, yet they worked harder than our own relatives. They were all good people.”

On the microblogging platform Weibo, hashtags about Dang’s death drew more than 13 million views, with users paying tribute to his kindness and mourning his loss.

Videos filmed before the journey showed volunteers packing supplies into Dang’s hiking backpack. When another volunteer said it was full, Dang adjusted it and asked for more. After five cucumbers were added, he could be heard saying, “Add a little more.”

Photos recovered from his phone showed him drenched in sweat and later lying on the ground with fellow volunteers, their shoes and legs covered in mud.

Family members and colleagues described Dang as generous and quick to help others. In 2021, he found a handbag containing 4,800 yuan in cash, tracked down its owner and returned it intact, earning an award from his employer.

After Dang was cremated on July 19, his father accompanied his ashes home on a high-speed train that passed through Meishan East Railway Station, where Dang had worked. He chose the route so his son could “be a railway worker one final time.”

As the train crossed the station, Dang’s colleagues lined the platform and saluted, many in tears.

“I knew he would join the disaster relief, but I never imagined I would lose him,” his father, Dang Qing, told state broadcaster CCTV. “What comforts me most is that he spent his final days doing something he truly loved and something meaningful. That makes me proud.”

Editor: Apurva.

(Header image: Left and right: Photos from Dang Xinrui’s phone show the volunteers on their way into the mountains. Center: A selfie taken by Dang before setting out. From The Paper)