In a video posted on Chinese social media websites, the bus is seen ramming into a car before veering off the road and falling into the river.
When the crane drive saw the bus going into the water body, he quickly climbed down from his vehicle and crossed a busy road to assess the situation.
He then returned to his crane and drove it to the river bank and saved the lives of four people by pulling them out of the submerged bus.
"The river bank is three or four meters above the water level. It was difficult for people in the bus to climb to the road. I came up with the idea to winch them up," the driver, Yao Xiaobing, was quoted as saying by Chinese website Xinhuanet.
Downplaying his heroic act, Yao said: "It's all over. It's good to see they are all right."
Video courtesy: People's Daily, China