A tourist in Weifang, East China's Shandong Province, "picks up" an elderly man while rafting through a canyon. Photo: Screenshot from Xiaoxiang Morning News.

A recent viral video clip shows a tourist in Weifang, East China's Shandong Province, "picking up" an elderly man while rafting through a canyon, Xiaoxiang Morning News reported. 

The scenic area said the man, a staff worker in charge of releasing boats, lost his footing and accidentally ended up in a tourist's raft due to the heavy traffic that day, before safely returning to his post.

The video sparked heated discussion online, with some netizens sharing "souvenirs" they had picked up while rafting, and others joking that they had once "collected a family of four."

A staff worker told Xiaoxiang Morning News that the incident was an isolated case. 

"It happened to be the weekend (the 10th), so there were a lot of people. The elderly man is a staff member responsible for releasing boats. That day there were many boats and it was a bit crowded. He lost his footing and ended up sitting in a tourist's raft, and was carried along with them," the worker said.

According to the staff member, the man safely reached the terminal along with the boat and returned to his position later, said the report.

One netizen commented, "Last time, someone rescued a working patrol dog — now you're telling me you rescued a working elderly man?" The video uploader replied, "Yes, he's a staff member."

Another netizen said, "When we went rafting last time, we picked up an insole, only to find out later it belonged to a fellow rafter we had teamed up with."