This is the heartwarming moment a brave captain dived into a canal to save a drowning girl in eastern China.

Mr Yu, a ship captain, spotted a group of people pointing to the water to calling for help to rescue the 13-year-old girl in distress in the river in Yancheng, Jiangsu, on May 4.

CCTV footage shows the captain throwing a lifebuoy into the water and jumping to rescue the girl while there was a passing ship in front of him.

Despite the danger he may face from the suction of the passing boat's propellers, he still continued to swim without hesitation and successfully retrieved the individual.

He brought her to the shore and instructed bystanders to call the ambulance as her body had become limp.