A heroic soldier rescued a nine-year-old boy who accidentally fell into an icy lake while playing on it.

The video, filmed in Hancheng City in northern China’s Shaanxi Province on January 21, shows a boy walking on an icy lake suddenly falling into a hole as the ice broke underneath. He then tries to climb out of the ice hole but fails.

A soldier on leave named Li Jingxuan can be seen arriving and taking off his coat before crawling over the icy lake towards the boy.

However, the ice surface collapses and Li falls into the lake when he tries to pull the boy out.

Then Li elbows the ice repeatedly to make sure it will not break again before carrying the boy onto more solid ice.

The boy then runs to the shore quickly, while Li climbs out of the water and returns to solid ground.

The boy was sent to hospital and he was not in life-threatening condition now.