How lost 8-year-old Chinese girl used ATM to find family
What's the story
An eight-year-old girl from Quzhou, in China's Zhejiang province, has been hailed for her survival instinct after she used an ATM to seek help.
The incident occurred on July 30 when the child was returning home from her dance class and got separated from her grandfather.
Without a mobile phone or any familiar faces around, she became anxious but soon found a unique solution.
Emergency response
ATM's emergency button connects girl to bank's monitoring center
In her distressed state, the young girl noticed an ATM booth nearby and decided to use it for help.
She pressed the red button next to the machine, which connected her with the bank's monitoring center.
Zhou Dongying, an employee at Quzhou Rural Commercial Bank, responded to her call through the intercom system.
When Zhou asked the girl if she remembered her grandfather's phone number or other members of her family, she said she did not.
Successful reunion
Police intervention leads to joyful family reunion
Regardless, Zhou alerted the local law enforcement authorities.
He then instructed the girl to stay put and continued to reassure her over the intercom.
Officers from Kaihua County Public Security Bureau soon arrived and she was reunited with her grandfather, who had been frantically searching for her.
"This is the first time I've learned that an ATM can be used like this. Kudos to the smart little girl and the warm-hearted staff," one user commented.
Safety measures
ATMs in Hangzhou feature emergency assistance buttons
According to Tide News, many local ATMs in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, are equipped with two types of emergency assistance buttons - an "emergency call" button and a red "emergency alarm" button.
The former allows direct communication with the bank's monitoring center while the latter is designed to alert police during emergencies at an ATM.