Photo/Illutration Vu Duc Huynh receives a letter of appreciation from Koji Otsuru, head of the local fire department, foreground, in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, in August. (Seiji Iwata)

KASUGA, Fukuoka Prefecture--A young Vietnamese technical intern trainee is being lauded for quickly springing into action to save a woman who fell off a bridge and into a river.

Vu Duc Huynh, 22, a resident of the town of Umi, was taking a rest alongside the Mikasagawa river in Onojo city on the afternoon of June 9, according to the local fire department.

After he saw the woman, who is in her 50s, fall off the bridge, he quickly dived into the river and swam toward her.

Huynh said the river was so deep that he could not reach the riverbed with his feet. He approached her from behind, grabbed her arm and was able to swim her back to the bank.

“I was happy to help,” he said.

The fire department for the cities of Kasuga, Onojo and Nakagawa presented him with a letter of appreciation and a commemorative plaque on Aug. 26 for saving the woman from drowning.

Originally from Hanoi, Huynh grew up playing and swimming in a local river and pond, and became a strong swimmer.

He said he was able to save people from drowning on four other occasions, when he was living in Vietnam.

Huynh is currently working at a company in Onojo as a technical intern, training to become a professional plasterer. He plans to return to Vietnam in January.

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