Chinese woman found alive after 15 days in well

A Chinese woman was found alive after being trapped in an abandoned well for 15 days, eating corn-cobs and drinking rainwater, local media reported Wednesday. Su Qixiu, 38, was found at the bottom of the well in a rural part of central China's Henan province, the Dahe Daily said. The well, hidden from view by corn plants, is only about one metre in diameter and four metres deep, but its smooth walls made climbing out difficult, the paper said. Su was "scarily skinny" when found, the report cited one of the firefighters who rescued her as saying. Pictures posted online showed a rescuer being lowered into the well on a rope, as Su lay on the well floor with her legs bent. She survived by eating raw corn she was carrying when she fell into the well, while two rain showers during the period provided her with water to drink, the paper said. Her family spent days searching for her after she did not return from picking medicinal herbs, but did not find her. Villagers eventually heard her calls for help while they were out harvesting corn, the report said. Su could barely speak when she was rescued, but did not have any obvious injuries. She was in stable condition and receiving fluids in a local hospital, the paper added.