A woman who tried to take her own life in a river in China's Guangdong province was rescued after she failed to sink, Chinese media reported.

The woman reportedly tried to drown herself in a river in Guangdong's Zhongshan city on Friday (Feb 24), the Guangzhou Daily reported on Sunday (Feb 26).

Fishermen in the area rescued the woman from the water with a bamboo pole, according to a report in Malaysia's Sin Chew Daily.

The city's rescue services received a report at 2.58pm that day, and dispatched three emergency vehicles and 15 officers to the scene.

She was taken to hospital.

Sin Chew Daily quoted an expert as saying that the woman did not sink as her body had "high fat content", and that her clothes helped her to float.