Chinese man floats 190 miles over two days after getting stuck in an untethered hydrogen balloon

A Chinese man who started out his day picking pine cones in the northeast of China ended up floating 190 miles over two days after getting stuck in an untethered hydrogen balloon.

The man, identified as Hu Yongxu, had been riding a hydrogen balloon to harvest the pine cones in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province last Sunday with a fellow worker when the balloon ‘suddenly rose uncontrollably’, state media reported.

His colleague jumped out of the basket in time but Hu got stuck, beginning a nerve-wracking, 186-mile journey in the air. 

Hu, who is in his 40s, immediately called his brother-in-law, saying he was scared of the height and that ‘everything he saw looked like ants,’ according to an interview with the brother-in-law by state-run Zhejiang Daily on Wednesday.

Video footage from multiple Chinese media outlets showed a pale balloon bobbing in the sky over pine forests.

CCTV said police made contact with Hu the following day, and instructed him over the phone on how to safely deflate and lower the balloon.

It took another day before he reached the ground about 190 miles to the northeast in the Fangzheng region, close to the border with Russia. 

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

An official who gave only his surname, Fu, at the publicity department of the Hailin Forestry Administration Co. on Thursday confirmed the balloon incident and described Hu as being in his 40s. 

Hu had been riding a hydrogen balloon to harvest the pine cones in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province when the balloon ‘suddenly rose uncontrollably’. Two days later, he reached the ground 186 miles to the northeast in the Fangzheng region, close to the border with Russia

He said Hu was recovering in a hospital but declined to give further details.

‘I almost gave up,’ Hu told the broadcaster following his extraordinary journey. ‘Thanks to the rescuers, otherwise, I wouldn’t be alive.’

Hu said that he feared for this life and battled cold and hunger whilst floating 190 miles across China. 

Pine nuts are found inside pine cones and are a frequent ingredient in dishes served in the northeast, formerly known as Manchuria.

Chinese farmers use hydrogen balloons to harvest the pine nuts and there have been some reports in recent years of pickers being swept away in the balloons.

In 2019, two men picking pine cones in the Changbai mountains travelled 6 miles in their balloon before landing. They were later arrested for violating aviation rules.