Zhang Xinna gives artificial respiration to a woman. [zzrmyy.com]

An off-duty nurse who saved the life of a woman who fell from the top of an elevated highway earlier this month said: "I just did my job."

Zhang Xinna, 26, who works at the People's Hospital of Zhengzhou in central China's Henan Province, was walking along the street on her day off when she heard a loud bang.

Zhang rushed to the site to check what had happened.

After discovering someone was injured, she immediately dialed for an ambulance and began first aid.

"By the time I got there an injured woman was lying on the road who was very unwell. At first she murmured something but soon went into a coma," Zhang told the reporter. "So I began CPR immediately."

Zhang then opened her umbrella to protect the woman from the rain and looked after her until the ambulance team took over.

After learning the near 50-year-old had regained her breathing, Zhang left quietly.

The video of Zhang saving the woman was posted online by a passerby and has since gone viral, but doesn't show her face.

Praised by the public, Zhang said: "I didn't think a lot at that moment, and my first reaction was to save the person. Everyone would do what I did when encountering things like that. It's no big deal." Zhang added.

"When I reached my home, I found I had grazed my knee when administering CPR and my clothes were caked in mud.

"But all of these are nothing compared to saving the life of a person."

Being a nurse herself, Zhang knew more than anyone else that rescuing a patient was a race against time.

"I couldn't wait. First aid had better be carried out within four minutes after people stop breathing because it's the golden time to rescue their life.

"In fact I also felt warm in my heart that day when an aunt held up her umbrella for me while exposing herself into the rain," the 26-year-old stated.

Another nurse of the hospital was surprised to learn that the good Samaritan in the video was her colleague. "It's unbelievable. The heroic nurse works just next to me. I feel proud of her," she said.

"Zhang's deed of stepping forward during an emergency and saving another's life with professional knowledge reflects upon the responsibilities of each medical worker," said Zhang Sisen, vice-president of Zhang's hospital.

"I hope every person can volunteer to help when others are in trouble and pass the warmth down to benefit more people in need," Zhang Sisen concluded.

It was reported that the injured woman left hospital after her recovery the next day.

Zhang Xinna carries out CPR in the street. [zzrmyy.com]

Zhang Xinna brazes her knees when giving first aid. [zzrmyy.com]

(Source: Zhengzhou Evening News/Translated and edited by Women of China)

Editor: Joyce Dong