On 27/5, Qin, a 39-year-old Chinese tourist, slipped and fell into the water while walking along the coast of Hainan Island. Without a life vest and lacking swimming experience, he was quickly swept far out to sea by large waves. His phone fell into the ocean, preventing him from calling for help.

Recognizing the perilous situation, Qin removed his shoes, long clothing, and jewelry to reduce his body weight. By the second day, he was fortunate to find a navigational buoy and climbed onto it for rest.

On the third day, the currents carried Qin into the Qiongzhou Strait, a busy maritime trade route. Despite seeing many passenger ships in the distance, the tourist was unable to signal for help. Powerless, he watched vessels pass by and repeatedly attempted to swim back to land without success. "For every one meter I swam, the waves pushed me back three meters", he recounted.

Qin at the hospital. Photo: Xinhua News

The fourth and fifth days at sea proved the most challenging. Exhausted from hunger, thirst, and sun exposure, Qin drifted into a state of delirium. He described hallucinating about his wedding back home, but "couldn't sit on the chair, my feet didn't touch the ground".

During moments of lucidity, the sole thought in the tourist's mind was "I cannot die". To survive, Qin caught 70 to 80 small crabs and ate them raw. He also resorted to drinking seawater and his own urine to sustain himself.

At 9 a.m. on 2/6, two fishermen, Zheng Shizhong and Fu Tingsan, discovered Qin while recovering foam buoys that had broken loose during the night. The victim was found approximately 10 kilometers from shore. When the two fishermen pulled him onto their boat with a wooden pole, Qin was still disoriented, mistaking the situation for dining with friends.

The attending doctor reported that Qin was admitted to the hospital with severe sunburn, widespread skin infections, metabolic disorder, and an elevated heart rate. Following emergency treatment, his health has shown good improvement.

Fishermen bringing Qin to shore. Photo: Xinhua News

The incident garnered significant attention on Chinese social media. Many online users praised the tourist's extraordinary will to survive and the rescue efforts of the two fishermen.

Local rescue agencies issued a warning about the dangers of coastal waters, particularly rip currents. Officials advise swimmers caught in such currents to remain calm and swim parallel to the coastline to escape the flow, rather than attempting to swim against it, which can lead to exhaustion.

Hoai Anh (According to Sun, Global Times)