Qin, a 39-year-old tourist who survived seven days and six nights adrift at sea, receives treatment at a hospital after being rescued by local fishermen in South China's Hainan Province. Photo: Screenshot from Southern Daily

A Chinese tourist who accidentally fell into the sea while walking along the coast survived seven days and six nights adrift in the waters off South China's Hainan Province by clinging to a buoy and eating dozens of small crabs raw before being rescued by local fishermen, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported Saturday.

The 39-year-old man, surnamed Qin, was pulled from the sea on June 2 near Yubao Port in Chengmai county in Hainan Province after drifting for about a week across the Qiongzhou Strait, the Southern Daily reported.

Qin said he fell into the water on the evening of May 27 while walking along the shoreline in Haikou, the capital of Hainan. With no life jacket or other flotation equipment and little swimming experience in open water, he was swept farther out to sea by strong winds and waves. His mobile phone was lost in the water, leaving him unable to call for help, according to the Southern Daily.

As he drifted farther offshore, Qin discarded his shoes, trousers, watch and ring to reduce weight. On the second day, he managed to climb onto a floating maritime buoy, where he rested through the night.

By the third day, Qin realized he had drifted into the busy Qiongzhou Strait and could see passenger ferries passing in the distance, but none spotted him. An attempt to swim back toward shore during calmer conditions failed when another wave carried him farther into open waters.

The fourth and fifth days proved the most difficult. Severely weakened by hunger, Qin survived by catching and eating an estimated 70 to 80 small crabs raw. As dehydration and exhaustion worsened, he began experiencing hallucinations.

He was finally spotted on the morning of June 2 by fishermen Zheng Shizhong and Fu Tingsan from Qiaotou Town, who had gone out to recover foam flotation devices that had broken loose overnight, per the Southern Daily. They found Qin in the sea at around 9 am. 

Qin was in a daze when he was rescued, thinking his friends had taken him out for a meal. What he reached out to grab was actually a wooden pole held out by the fishermen.  

"When we found him, he told us, 'I think I'm dying,'" Fu recalled. "I told him, 'You're not going to die. You've run into fishermen. We'll get you home.'"

The fishermen said Qin was found roughly 10 kilometers from shore and was barely conscious. They immediately turned their boat around and headed back to land while reporting to the village authorities for support. 

A doctor at Chengmai County People's Hospital said Qin arrived suffering from severe sunburn, extensive skin damage and infections, as well as metabolic disorders and an elevated heart rate. He was badly sunburned, with damaged skin and multiple areas of suppuration, emergency physician Chen Boyi said. After treatment, his vital signs have gradually stabilized.

The incident has drawn widespread attention on Chinese social media, with many users praising the fishermen's rescue efforts and Qin's determination to survive under extreme conditions.

Rescue officials used the case to remind the public of the dangers posed by coastal waters, particularly rip currents, which can quickly carry swimmers away from shore. They advised anyone caught in a rip current to swim parallel to the coastline rather than attempting to fight directly against the flow.

Global Times