'Too embarrassed to call for help'

A Chinese man ended up stuck in river silt for 11 hours - because he was too embarrassed to call for help.

Xiao Chen, 25, a painter and decorator in Chongqing, got stuck after going for a late night dip in the Changjiang River.

And even though he had his mobile phone with him, he didn't call anyone for help as he was worried about losing face.

"I saw a patch of grass, which was actually duckweed on the surface of the water, stepped onto it and got stuck there," he said.

Chen admitted he didn't call for help as he thought his mistake was really shameful.

A rescue operation was finally launched four hours later after he was spotted by two fishermen, reports the Chongqing Morning Post.

Even then, it took firefighters another seven hours to pull him out - partly because he was too embarrassed to take his trousers off.

"A red plastic bag was in his hand. In the bag were his swimming trunks, and a cell phone," said firefighter Zhou Xin.

"The silt had got into his pants, and stuck to his legs. We suggested he take off his long pants, then we could pull him out easily, but he refused.

"If he was not so interested in saving face, and cooperated with us by removing his pants, he could have been out in one or two hours."

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