A sanitation worker from Nanchong, Sichuan Province, searched for over six hours in two tons of garbage to find a red plastic bag containing 3,500 yuan ($560) that belonged to an 89-year-old man.

The old man, surnamed Deng, said the money was in the pocket of an old pair of trousers that his wife had accidentally thrown into the garbage back in April. They rushed to the dump immediately but the garbage had already been delivered to a waste-compacting station, which in turn compressed the waste into solid mass.

Tang Qijun, who was on duty in the compression station that day, jumped into the dump and started searching for the lost money after he heard about Deng's story.

Despite the midday heat, along with the stench of garbage and compressed waste, Tang insisted on finding the plastic bag which contained the old man's trousers.

Six hours later, Tang finally located the bag and gave it back to Deng. When Deng offered Tang money as gratitude, he turned down the offer and went back to work.

CCTV