Beluga Whale saves Diver...
A brave Beluga whale has been credited with saving a drowning diver's life in China by pushing her to the surface when her legs became paralysed from cold.
Terrified diver Yang Yun thought she was going to die when her legs were paralysed by the crippling Arctic temperatures during a free-diving contest in north-east China.
Competitors had to sink to the bottom of an aquarium's 20-foot Arctic pool without any breathing equipment and stay there for as long as possible.
The pool at Polar Land in Harbin, China, is also inhabited by Beluga whales.
Yun, 26, was taking part in the contest - but when she tried to head for the surface, she found to her horror that her legs were crippled by cramps.
'I began to choke and sank even lower and I thought that was it for me - I was dead. Until I felt this incredible force under me driving me to the surface,' she explained.
Beluga whale Mila had spotted her difficulties - and using her sensitive dolphin-like nose guided Yun safely to the surface.
The astonishing moment was captured on camera by a photographer sitting in a viewing gallery at the competition.
'Mila noticed the problem before we did,' explained an organiser.
'We suddenly saw the girl being pushed to the top of the pool with her leg in Mila's mouth.
'She's a sensitive animal who works closely with humans and I think this girl owes her her life.'
Intelligent Belugas were among the first whales to interact with man and have facial muscles that allow them to smile.
It is not uncommon for events to be held in the Belugas' tank - underwater hockey events are also held there.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...g-surface.html
