In Yantang Village, Sichuan a 78-year-old woman miraculously survived seven days stuck in a 20-meter-deep cave by licking water droplets off rocks, Chengdu Business News reported on Thursday.
The woman, surnamed You, slipped into a cave dubbed “sky hole” by local villagers when she was walking by a bamboo grove alone on the evening of November 27.
A total of 198 villagers participated in the search for her before she was found by one of her sons in a cave about 15 meters from their home on December 4.
“Her body was covered in mud, her eyes were sunken, and her clothes were soaking wet. Her hands and face were covered with small scratches,” recalls Chen Shiyi, a rescue worker at the site.
You, who was sent to a hospital as soon as she was rescued, suffered swollen feet after standing in muddy water for an entire week as well as a few scratches on her face and hands. She was discharged from hospital after being treated and observed for another seven days.
The “sky hole” she fell into is a funnel-shaped subterraneous karst cave which is rich in oxygen and and surface water, both of which contributed to the You's survival, according to a researcher at Wanyuan municipal Land and Resources Bureau.
“Water is a key reason she held on for so many days,” said Zheng Tao, director of the Emergency Department in Dazhou Central Hospital, adding “the elderly woman was also in good health condition and had a strong will to live, which also contributed to her survival.”
The one-square-meter hole You fell into has since been covered up by her two sons.
[images via Tencent]
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