Chinese man trapped aloft in hydrogen balloon for 2 days

Chinese state media say a man has been found safe after he spent two days aloft in a hydrogen balloon. He travelled for about 320km, after it became untethered and flew away while he was using it to harvest pine nuts from a tree.

On Sunday, the man — identified only by his surname Hu — and a partner were collecting pine nuts in a forest park situated in the Heilongjiang Province of northeastern China when they lost control, and the balloon sailed off.

The other person jumped to the ground, and a search was launched for the escaped balloon that carried Hu with it.

State broadcaster CCTV explained that rescuers were able to contact the man via cellphone the following morning, and instructed him to slowly deflate the balloon to land safely. It took another day before he reached the ground, about 320km to the northeast in the Fangzheng region, close to the border with Russia.

Apart from a pain in his lower back, Hu was in good health, possibly from standing the entire time he was in the air, CCTV said.

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