Chinese Tourist Survives Seven Days Adrift in Qiongzhou Strait After Falling From Hainan Cliff

A 39-year-old Chinese tourist fell from a clifftop while trekking on Hainan island and was rescued seven days later after drifting 10 km out to sea in the Qiongzhou Strait. The 20-mile channel separates the island from mainland China. He had no means of communication, flotation device, or provisions.

Powerful currents dragged him farther from land throughout the ordeal. On the first night he fought massive waves in an attempt to reach shore. "The sea is nothing like a swimming pool. I couldn't touch the bottom, and huge waves kept pushing me further out," Mr Qin said.

"Every time I struggled a metre toward the shore, the waves would yank me three or four metres back. There was no way I could swim back," he added. By the second day the coastline had vanished from view.

He stripped off his clothing, footwear, and wristwatch to reduce weight and conserve energy, and once tried to rest on a floating buoy before being thrown back into the water. Hunger became acute on the fourth and fifth days. Mr Qin caught and ate between 70 and 80 small raw crabs from floating debris and buoys.

"The sun scorched me during the day, but the water kept stealing my body heat. After two or three days adrift, the sea felt as cold as a fridge," he said. He also drank seawater and his own urine to fend off dehydration and experienced intense hallucinations.

"I dreamed there was a wedding in my hometown, and I was helping to cook, but I couldn't sit in a chair, and my feet couldn't touch the ground," Mr Qin said. " On the morning of the seventh day, Chengmai County fisherman Zheng Shizhong spotted Mr Qin far out at sea. "My heart skipped a beat when I saw him," Zheng said.

The current then swept Mr Qin a hundred metres away. Zheng and fellow fisherman Fu Tingsan approached and used a four-metre pole to rouse the unresponsive man, whose eyes were shut. "I think I'm going to die," Mr Qin said as the fishermen hauled him aboard.

At Chengmai County People's Hospital, doctors treated him for severe sunburn, infected wounds, dehydration, and internal damage from seawater ingestion. He had shed more than 10 kilograms and suffered oral ulcers and infections from eating the raw crabs. Medical professionals described the case as a remarkable survival against seemingly insurmountable odds.