Chinese woman survives 15 days after falling into abandoned well

A Chinese woman has been found alive after becoming trapped at the bottom of an abandoned well for 15 days.

Su Qixiu (38) lived off raw corn cobs and rainwater, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

She fell down the concealed well near her village in the northern province of Henan while foraging for herbs and could not climb out as the walls were too slippery and steep, the report said.

As she fell she tried to grab hold of some corn stalks. The stalks did not stop her fall but some ears of corn fell into the well with her, it said.

Relatives searched for the missing woman but could not find her as the well was obscured by the corn.

“There was nothing [in the well], [so I]ate a bit of raw corn and called for help every day,” Ms Su was reported as saying.

“I spent every day hoping that someone would walk by and rescue me. I called out every day, and although there was no response, I did not give up,” it quoted her as saying.

Su was discovered by a villager who was harvesting corn on Monday and then rescued by firefighters, Xinhua said. She was in a stable condition in hospital and recovering, the agency said.

Her husband Li Qunming told reporters she had lost considerable weight in her ordeal.

“She was originally 115lb (52kg), now she’s so thin I’m afraid she may not even weigh 80lb (36kg),” he said.

Reuters/Guardian