A British diplomat leapt into a river in southwest China to rescue a drowning student over the weekend, said Britain's embassy in Beijing as well as Chinese state media.

Stephen Ellison, the 61-year-old British consul-general in Chongqing, jumped into the water at a scenic spot in the municipality on Saturday after spotting the struggling female student, who had fallen in by accident, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

A video of the incident posted on...