A quick-thinking man has been hailed a hero after he used his bare hands to dig a tiny stream through a bed of stones, saving dozens of stranded fish gasping for life in a drying river.

The rescue, recorded in this 11th April clip, happened in Yibin, a city in China's Sichuan province.

Footage shows the man crouching by a shallow, sun-scorched riverbed, where a shrinking pool of water had left fish trapped and floundering.

He calmly removes pebbles and debris to open up a channel leading to a nearby flowing stream.

Within seconds of finishing the trench, fish begin wriggling through the new escape route, darting into deeper, cooler water.

Man rescues carp stranded in Yangtze River in Sichuan, China, undated. The video was shared on Douyin - the Chinese version of TikTok on April 11, 2025. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (AsiaWire/NX)

Social media erupted with praise for the man, with one user on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, saying: "This is what humanity should look like. Respect for all life forms."

Another added: "Such a small act, but it made a big difference for those fish."

A third viewer wrote in a comment that was pinned by the uploader: "Nature needs more people like him."

(MJ Leidig/newsX)