The incident occurred deep in a gully on Baiyun Mountain. Recently, seven firefighters arrived at Baiyun Mountain and rescued the trapped man, Gong Jianpeng. Gong claimed he had been trapped for over ten days, but according to doctors, he had not eaten properly for no more than a week
The cry for help broke the morning calm of Baiyun Mountain. After searching for several hours, scenic area security found a man trapped under a 100-meter-deep cliff at [V Jilin on Baiyun Mountain. The day before yesterday, Guangzhou firefighters climbed down the cliff and finally rescued the man. Yesterday, the man was still hospitalized due to severe malnutrition. He claimed he had gone into the mountains to end his life due to life setbacks and had been trapped for over ten days. However, the attending doctor said further tests suggested, based on his nutritional condition, that he might have been starving for about a week
A man’s cry for help suddenly echoed from a 100-meter-deep valley
Around 7 a.m. the day before yesterday, there were almost no tourists around [V Jilin on Baiyun Mountain, with only occasional locals hiking for morning exercise. When two citizens hiked to the area near Songfeng Pavilion at [V Jilin, they suddenly heard cries for help from the valley. They immediately reported the situation to the staff nearby at [V Jilin
Subsequently, Liu Shanwei, deputy head of the security team at Mingzhu Tower Scenic Area Management Office, along with several guards, climbed down the valley in separate groups. Due to the overgrown weeds covering the slopes, the search was extremely difficult. Liu Shanwei said that whenever the guards called out, the man would respond. But echoes in the valley interfered with the guards’ ability to pinpoint the location of the person calling for help. It took over two hours before they finally found the man in a deep valley more than 100 meters below the top of Songfeng Pavilion
The cliff leading down to the valley had a slope of nearly 70 degrees, with no path—only weeds and trees. Liu Shanwei recalled that the man, in his twenties, was wearing a thick jacket, barefoot, very dirty, curled up in a ball, lying among the bushes, shivering continuously. Next to him was an empty 2.5-liter oil bottle, a wooden stick, a small bundle of rope, and a pack of ID cards and other documents
Upon seeing the guards, the man kept shouting “water.” After giving him water, the guards stayed and talked with him while waiting for rescue. The guards said that during their conversation, the man said he had been having trouble at work, didn’t want to live anymore, had health issues, and didn’t want to be a burden to his family, so he wanted to die
Four-hour cliff rescue to bring trapped man to safety
Vehicles could only drive up the mountain road to the “Baiyun Songtao” scenic spot, after which it was another two kilometers of mountain path to reach Songfeng Pavilion. Looking down from Songfeng Pavilion, the accident valley lay beneath the cliff wall, the path steep and pathless, covered only with trees and weeds. At around 10 a.m. the day before yesterday, after seven officers from Guangzhou Fire’s Guangyuan Squadron and medical personnel arrived at the scene, the firefighters tied ropes to the pillars of the pavilion, secured them, and then six soldiers carrying ropes, rescue kits, and stretchers slowly descended along the cliff wall into the valley
After doctors confirmed that the trapped man had no fractures, the firefighters placed the man on a stretcher and secured him, fastening one end of the safety rope to Songfeng Pavilion. Due to the extreme steepness of the slope, it was impossible to lift the trapped man directly via stretcher, so rescuers had to blaze a path through the weeds. Rescue personnel first used hatchets to hack a path through the brush, then several firefighters took turns carrying the man, taking nearly half an hour to finally get him onto the platform of Songfeng Pavilion and settle him there
Then, the firefighters carried the stretcher along nearly two kilometers of mountain paths and finally got the man into the ambulance. After over four hours of rescue, he was taken to the First People’s Hospital of Baiyun District for treatment
■ Statements
Doctor: Mental issues need further examination
How many days was Gong Jianpeng actually trapped in the mountains? At the time of rescue, the attending doctor told the media that based on preliminary findings, Gong had not been trapped in the mountains for as long as ten days. The doctor said Gong’s blood sugar wasn’t low, which didn’t match someone who had been starving for over ten days. In addition, Gong hadn’t grown much facial hair despite being trapped until then
Yesterday, doctors at the First People’s Hospital of Baiyun District conducted another examination on him. The doctor said that, based on the current condition, Gong Jianpeng was suffering from severe malnutrition, was still receiving intravenous therapy, and whether there was any life-threatening danger remained to be seen with further treatment. The doctor estimated that, judging by his nutritional status, he indeed hadn’t eaten for several days, “possibly for about a week without proper meals”
What worried doctors even more was that Gong Jianpeng was reluctant to cooperate with treatment. The doctor said that during the morning check-up, they tried to ask him for details, but he was unwilling to elaborate. Later, when they tried to get him to eat, he refused. Due to concerns about potential suicidal behavior, doctors repeatedly asked his brother to keep a close watch on Gong Jianpeng
Upon admission, doctors found that Gong Jianpeng had kidney stones but no other serious illnesses. As for whether he had mental conditions such as depression, doctors said further checks would be needed once he recovered
The man himself: Wanted to die, so went into the mountains
The rescued man, Gong Jianpeng, 28, is from Longhui County, Hunan Province. After being rescued, he said he had gone into the mountains intending to end his life
Gong Jianpeng said he had previously worked in Dongguan. Around the Spring Festival, he went to Ningbo, Zhejiang, but didn’t find a good job. He then returned to Dongguan, and after failing to find work again, came to Guangzhou. In previous interviews, Gong Jianpeng said he also didn’t find a job in Guangzhou, and “wandered” in Huadu for a long time. More than ten days ago, he filled an empty oil bottle with water and entered Baiyun Mountain. He said he didn’t want to live anymore, so he didn’t plan to come back out
Gong Jianpeng said his life had been very rough, he had no job, and his parents had previously wanted him to return home to get married, but he didn’t want to go back. Some time before the incident, he felt hopeless about life, which led to his desire to die
After arriving at the [V Jilin area, Gong Jianpeng sat by the roadside on the mountain. When thirsty, he drank some water but didn’t eat anything. Previously, because there were still pedestrians coming and going on the mountain path, he wanted to find a place where no one was around to “wait for death.” He said that in a daze, he dreamed of his parents, which gave him a desire to survive, so he ventured into the woods and tried to walk down the mountain path. Unexpectedly, while walking, he suddenly slipped. Having not eaten for a long time, he was too weak to stop himself and slid all the way to the bottom of the valley
By then, Gong Jianpeng’s phone was dead, and he was too weak to get up, so he just lay at the bottom of the valley. When thirsty, he drank some water. Once the water in the bucket was gone, he collected rainwater to drink. However, he claimed he didn’t eat anything
Gong Jianpeng said he couldn’t remember how many days he had been trapped in the valley, but he had been in Baiyun Mountain for over ten days in total
The day before yesterday morning, feeling very cold, thirsty, and hungry, he couldn’t help but call for help and was finally discovered and rescued
Family: He doesn’t want to talk to anyone
“I really hope to know what happened, but my brother doesn’t want to talk to me,” said Gong Jianpeng’s younger brother Awei (a pseudonym), who rushed to the hospital from Dongguan the night before last. Facing reporters, he said he also didn’t know why his brother wanted to die. Awei said that after arriving at the hospital for most of the day, his brother had barely spoken a word to him, “It’s not that he can’t speak, he just doesn’t want to talk to anyone”
Ah Wei explained that his elder brother had gone out to work after graduating from high school. He had always been introverted and stubborn, unwilling to talk much with the family, and rarely kept in touch with home during the many years he worked away. Last July or August, he once told his younger brother that he was experiencing serious health issues, but when they took him to the hospital for a check-up, no problems were found.
Yesterday at the hospital, aside from speaking to some media, Gong Jianpeng spent most of the time in a daze. During the interview, Gong Jianpeng appeared weak, his face pale, and his voice very faint.
Currently, Ah Wei and their mother are working in Dongguan, while their mother and sister are on their way there. However, Ah Wei said that it’s likely the rest of the family also doesn’t know much about the elder brother’s situation. Around the Spring Festival, Gong Jianpeng went to work in Ningbo, Zhejiang, but the family doesn’t know when he arrived in Guangzhou or how long he stayed there. During the Spring Festival, Gong Jianpeng did not return home and only sent the family a text message to say he was safe. Aside from well-wishes, the message simply said, “I’m doing fine.”