Chinese Tourist Survives 38 Hours at Sea After Falling off Cruise Ship

The 32-year-old woman, identified by her surname Fan, recently set sail on the Royal Caribbean for a five-day cruise that departed from Shanghai, China to South Korea and Japan.

According to South China Morning Post, her trip was cut short when she fell overboard while leaning on a deck rail on Wednesday night. Fan cried for help, but there was no one else was on deck late at night to hear her.

Her father reported his missing daughter to police when she was nowhere to be found. The ship’s surveillance videos only showed Fan pacing the deck. The cruise ship staff sent out a search team for her on Wednesday and contacted local authorities on Thursday.

Fan informed police later on that she had graduated from a sports university and was a fairly good swimmer. During the 38 hours in the ocean, she was able to tread water whenever she dozed off. Even when she grew tired, Fan continuously moved her arms back and forth slowly to prevent herself from sinking.

She also knew to stay away from large ships that came in her direction and swam away from them to avoid getting pulled under by the force. On Friday morning when Fan woke up she saw a fishing vessel nearby. Using her strength, she swam towards the boat and was rescued by the crew off Zhoushan in Zhejiang province at around 11 a.m.

On Saturday morning, Fan made her way back on shore via another fishing vessel. She was escorted to the local hospital where doctors found her in good condition minus a few blisters on her arms from jellyfish stings.

While many are surprised by her miraculous ability to survive at sea, others were more shocked she was able to live to tell the tale after falling overboard. According to a coastguard, her initial fall off the Royal Caribbean cruise ship is equivalent to jumping off a seven story building.

Perhaps, China has found itself another Olympic diver and swimmer.