3 People Pay Boatman To Ferry Them Out Of Lockdown Town

Story By: John FengSub-EditorJoseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

AsiaWire

This is the moment three Chinese residents escape a locked-down town in a tiny wooden boat after paying a ferryman to help them buy “snacks” across a river.

Footage from the county of Lujiang, which is in Hefei, capital of Anhui Province in East China, shows the trio packed into the small vessel as boatman Mr Wang paddles across the Baishishan River.

According to reports, the three residents are from the town of Tongda, which has been put on lockdown as part of emergency measures to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus – now officially COVID-19.

AsiaWire

The trio would usually use Baishan Bridge, but the structure is currently closed on both ends as officials continue to impose strict travel restrictions and encourage self-isolation in one’s own home.

But the group were determined to buy “snacks” on the other side of the river, so they paid Mr Wang to ferry them across in his boat, the police said.

They were immediately spotted by patrolling officers and arrested as soon as they reached the opposite riverbank.

Mr Wang’s little boat has also been seized.

However, it was unclear whether the police planned to detain the four during the outbreak or punish them in the future.

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