Elderly woman survives being trapped in abandoned well for 9 days

A 63-year-old woman from China's southwest Sichuan province miraculously survived being trapped in a 10-meter-deep dry well for 9 days by chewing on tree bark and drinking urine, Chengdu Business Daily reported Monday.

On Feb 2, a few days before China's Spring Festival, the woman named Wang Huanzhen and her husband went out to collect firewood, but she accidentally fell into an abandoned well.

When the husband returned after carrying the load back home, he could not find Wang. So he reported to the local police.

The whole family and local police station spent the entire holiday searching for her in local and neighboring towns.

On Feb 10, when a shepherd surnamed Yu passed by the industrial park where Wang and her husband had been collecting wood, he heard a weak call for help. Wang was found and then taken to a local hospital for treatment.

A rib and her right leg were found to be fractured.

Wang said that in order to stay alive, she had chewed on tree bark and drunk her own urine to avoid dehydration, which she learned in a first aid course after the massive Wenchuan earthquake that struck the region back in 2008.

"I think it is my positive mindset that kept me alive," Wang added.

Currently Wang is out of a critical condition and recovering.