The founder of China’s leading supermarket chain, Pangdonglai, has won admiration for wading into icy water to save a man trapped in a car.

The drama unfolded on January 21, when Yu Donglai and his friends were driving several SUVs past the banks of the Ru River in Ruzhou, central Henan province, Elephant News reported.

When Yu saw a BMW SUV being trapped in a marsh, he told his friends to stop their vehicles to help.

Yu, 60, took off his coat and got into the freezing water, which was up to his knees, according to a viral video about the incident.

When a friend asked: “Brother Donglai, do you feel cold?” Yu replied three times that he “was not cold.”

He held a guide rope and skilfully connected it to the stricken vehicle.

The SUV, with its driver inside, was dragged out of the water by a nearby vehicle. The whole rescue lasted about 10 minutes, the report said.