TWO people playing near the sea in Qingdao of Shandong Province were swept away by a huge wave on June 24. One of the two victims, a man surnamed Jin, was rescued. The other, a woman surnamed Huang died, while a man attempting to rescue her also perished, the Beijing Evening News reported.

Experts have warned people not to play near the sea during times of strong winds and huge waves.

On the afternoon of June 24, a young woman Huang Li was playing with two friends close to the sea by Donghai Road. She was swept into the water by a huge wave when she tried to walk down the stairs.

A man jumped into the sea to look for the girl, but he also disappeared. The body of the hero, Ge Lu, was found the next afternoon.

Qingdao city arranged helicopter and rescue teams to look for the missing girl. At about 5:30pm, her body was washed to shore.

Meanwhile, another man was reported to have fallen into the sea near Bihai Garden. The man was rescued after three hours. He was fine after examination in hospital.

The lucky man, Jin Hejiu, said he was only 20 metres away from the bank when he fell into the water. Though he is a skilled swimmer, a huge wave pulled him away. An hour later, he was over 500 metres away from the shore.

Luckily, he was able to grab a floating device thrown to him by people on the bank, allowing him to survive. "Though the device was not very big, it gave me confidence," he said. "More and more people and police cars on the bank also gave me energy."

In the end, a motor boat drove to him and pulled him from the water. (Star News)