A man who lost control of his hydrogen balloon while collecting pine cones in China has been found and rescued – after landing in a forest two days later and more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) away.
The man, surnamed Hu, was working with a colleague on Sunday in Hailin County, Heilongjiang Province, when they lost control of the balloon. While his colleague jumped to safety, Hu missed his chance and walked away.
He was only found at 9am local time on Tuesday when – after tracking his mobile phone signal – a rescue team made up of more than 500 people from the local police and fire brigade found his balloon stuck in a tree, the state-owned Global Times reported on Wednesday.
“I almost gave up,” Hu told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. “Thanks to the rescuers, otherwise I wouldn’t be alive.”
Hu said in interviews that he was cold and hungry during the ordeal. However, he was largely uninjured, suffering what were described as only minor injuries to his lower back.
The use of hydrogen or helium balloons to harvest pine nuts has become more common in China in recent years, and there are occasional reports of collectors being carried away – though usually not as far as Hu.
In 2019, two men gathering pine nuts in China’s Changbai Mountains lost control of their balloon and drifted 10 kilometers (6 miles) – before landing safely and being arrested for violating aviation regulations. In another case, in 2017, a nut picker disappeared near the North Korean border after his balloon became disconnected.
Even without out-of-control balloons, harvesting pine nuts in China can be a dangerous business. Traditionally, collectors wearing spiked shoes climb the trees – which can reach 20 meters (about 65 feet) – and falls can be fatal.
