Snow quenches cleaners' thirst, a mother's hand saves her suicidal son, and a cell phone works from beyond the grave.

Wang Xiyi eats snow to quench his thirst during a busy shift in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province on Dec 7. [Photo/CFP]

Cleaners eat snow to quench thirst

A couple of cleaners swept snow continuously for 17 hours, eating the snow they swept to quench their thirst in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province on Dec 7, People's Daily said on Sina Weibo, China's microblogging service.

Wang Xiyi, 36, and his wife started work at 5:30 am. At around 3:00 pm, heavy snow hit the city. The couple, with a dozen other colleagues, swept snow late into the night past 11:00 pm.

Since the areas they cleared were soon covered by the falling snow, the cleaners were buried in work, grabbing a quick bite of steamed buns and eating snow to quench their thirst instead of a meal.

The local cleaners are on call 24 hours a day. Heavy snow must be cleared to ensure smooth traffic.