Balloon-borne pine-nut picker ends up 300km away
All he was trying to do was pick pine nuts. But a man in China ended up taking a long trip.
The man, identified only as Hu, was using a hydrogen balloon when it was blown away, CNN reported, quoting Chinese state media.
Mr Hu had been working with a colleague in Hailin county of Heilongjiang province on Sunday when they lost control of the balloon.
His colleague managed to jump to safety, but Mr Hu remained on the balloon as it drifted away.
He was found only on Tuesday morning, some 300km away.
A search and rescue operation involving more than 500 people had traced his mobile phone signal and finally spotted the balloon stuck in a tree.
"I almost gave up," Mr Hu told broadcaster CCTV. "Thanks to the rescuers. Otherwise, I wouldn't be alive."
He told interviewers that he had been cold and hungry, but he was unharmed, except for minor injuries to his waist.
The use of hydrogen or helium balloons to harvest pine nuts has become increasingly common in China and there have been similar incidents in the past.
In a case reported in 2019, two men lost control of their balloon in China's Changbai mountains and drifted 10km before landing safely.
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