Guangxi man survives drifting at sea for 7 days

HAIKOU — When fisherman Zheng Shizhong spotted a naked, unresponsive man floating about 10 kilometers off the coast of Chengmai county, Hainan province, on Tuesday morning, he could hardly believe the drifter was still alive.

The man, Qin Jianping, a wholesale businessman from South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, had fallen into the sea seven days earlier during a late-night walk. He had no mobile phone, no life jacket and no supplies to sustain him.

A slip into the sea

Qin was on holiday in Haikou, the capital of Hainan, when the accident occurred. At about 11 pm on May 27, he stepped on a discarded fruit peel while walking along a seaside dam in windy weather and slipped into the waves.

"The sea is nothing like a swimming pool," Qin said. "I couldn't touch the bottom, and huge waves kept pushing me farther out. Every time I swam toward the shore, the waves pulled me back. There was no way I could return."

Although Qin knew how to swim, he swallowed large amounts of seawater and suffered cuts from coral reefs shortly after falling in.

As the tide carried him farther offshore and his strength faded, he stopped fighting the current and allowed himself to drift, hoping passing vessels would spot him at daybreak. But by the following morning, land had disappeared from view.

Two ships passed nearby that day, but neither saw him.

To conserve energy, Qin discarded his belongings, including his shoes, trousers, watch and ring. He stayed afloat by treading water and moving his arms.

"The sun scorched me during the day, but the water kept taking away my body heat," he said. "After two or three days, the sea felt as cold as a refrigerator."

After more than 40 hours without food or sleep, Qin managed to climb onto a floating buoy and briefly fell asleep, only to be knocked back into the water by a large wave.

On May 30, he climbed onto an iron navigation buoy, but the metal had been heated by the sun. After clinging to it for several hours, he returned to the water and continued drifting.

Desperate for water, Qin drank seawater and later his own urine. Neither relieved his thirst, and he began experiencing severe pain when urinating.

At night, he battled the cold and exhaustion.

"Urine is a stream of warm heat," he said. "I curled into a ball and tried to preserve every bit of warmth."

On May 31, the fifth day of his ordeal, Qin reached another navigation buoy with a foam base. Too weak to climb aboard, he clung to its side and discovered small sea crabs living in gaps in the foam.

He caught dozens of the crabs with his bare hands and ate them raw. They became his only source of food during the weeklong ordeal.

Rescue at the last moment

By the fifth day, Qin was so exhausted that he could hear ferries and trains from the shore but lacked the strength to move toward them. Severe dehydration and starvation triggered hallucinations.

"I dreamed there was a wedding in my hometown and I was helping to cook," he said. "I could barely breathe, but there was only one thought in my head: I can't die."

By the sixth day, his condition had deteriorated further. His eyes were bloodshot from exposure and dehydration, and memories of his childhood, marriage and family filled his mind as he feared death was near.

Then Zheng and fellow fisherman Fu Tingsan spotted him.

"My heart skipped a beat when I saw him," Zheng said. "But the current swept him away almost immediately."

The fishermen steered closer and found Qin floating on his back with his eyes closed. They first threw him a rope, but his vision had become so poor that he could not see it.

They then extended a 4-meter boat pole and tapped him on the back.

Delirious and barely conscious, Qin grabbed the pole. The fishermen pulled him aboard.

"I think I'm going to die," Qin said.

"You're with us now. You're not going to die," Zheng said.

The fishermen carefully gave him small sips of water rather than allowing him to drink freely, fearing further harm to his body. They rinsed his wounds with fresh water, provided clothing and massaged his stiff legs.

The return trip to the shore took about 85 minutes. Villagers were already waiting and helped contact police and medical workers while spreading information online in hopes of locating Qin's family.

Reunion and recovery

Back in Guangxi, Qin's family had been desperately searching for him.

A friend traveled to Hainan and reported him missing on May 29. Police later confirmed through surveillance footage that he had fallen into the sea.

His wife arrived in Hainan on May 31 and spent days searching along the coastline. Authorities told the family that survival beyond three days adrift at sea was highly unlikely.

"I had already accepted that my husband was gone," she said. "I filled three bottles with seawater to take home as a memento."

She was preparing to return to Guangxi when she received news that Qin had been found alive. When she saw him in the hospital, covered in scars and almost unrecognizable, she broke down in tears.

Qin was admitted to Chengmai County People's Hospital in critical condition.

Doctors diagnosed severe hypertonic dehydration, multiple infected wounds from reefs and marine life, oral ulcers caused by eating raw crabs, and internal injuries linked to drinking seawater and urine.

He lost about 10 kilograms during the ordeal, dropping from more than 85 kg to about 75 kg.

After two days of intensive care, his condition stabilized. Doctors said he was expected to be discharged within a week and should require only routine follow-up treatment.

Qin said the first thing he plans to do after recovering is visit the two fishermen who saved his life.

"No matter how dangerous or hopeless things get, if you keep a steady mind, you can get through it," he said.

XINHUA