Five university students were hailed heroes for saving a 10-year-old boy from drowning after he accidentally fell into a river while playing near the shore.

Brave Liang Zhexuan, Zhong Jinghong, Zheng Huaiyi, Lai Haoxiang, and Cao Enzhe, were walking back to their campus in Baiyun in Guangzhou, China, at noon on December 24, when they were stopped by two young pupils.

The youngsters informed them that another child, who was playing with them, who was not named, had fallen into the river and could not swim.

Liang and his companions immediately rushed to the scene.

There, they found the 10-year-old boy struggling about 15 feet from the shore in deep water.

Cao quickly grabbed a nearby tree branch, intending to have the drowning child catch it and pull him ashore.

However, the branch was too short to reach the boy's hands, and he was drifting downstream in his struggle.

Liang then calmly directed the rescue effort.

Cao, Zhong, and Lai took off their clothes, handed their belongings to Zheng, and formed a human chain to create a 'human ladder.'

Dramatic footage shows them at the bottom of the steep embankment trying to extend the branch closer to the boy.

As one of them leaned over the water, the other two held him tightly to prevent him from falling in.

This finally allowed the boy to grab the tree branch, and they were able to pull him to shore.

The group was later praised for their rescue efforts.

To express their gratitude, the parents and the child visited Baiyun University, where they all study, and presented them with a commendation plaque on January 3.

Mr Zhu, the boy's father, and his wife expressed profound respect and sincere thanks to the five students.

They appreciated the students' fearless and courageous act, successfully rescuing their child in distress.

And Liang humbly responded: 'Helping others, for us, is just a small effort.

'We simply did what we should do.

'Being able to do a little more for others is a quality that contemporary university students should possess.'