Woman survives 7 days after falling off cliff

Nguyen Thi Bich Lien, 59, traveled from Hanoi to Quang Ninh’s Ha Long on April 27, before going to Yen Tu Mountain to visit Dong Pagoda. It was the first time she visited the mountain.

On her way down, she experienced hypotension and decided to rest a bit by the rails of the pagoda. When she tried to get up, she got dizzy, lost her foothold and fell down a 30-meter cliff.

She tried to scream for help, but no one heard her. Her phone was lost during the fall. She tried to climb up but failed. She was fortunately uninjured thanks to her raincoat and tree canopies braking her fall.

During her time at the bottom of the cliff, Lien survived off rice cakes and other food she brought with her. She rationed her meals, only eating one piece of food a day. She also ate the ferns growing around her while looking for water left inside the trash or bottles thrown away by tourists.

“I collected all the leftover water in a clean bottle to drink. When night fell, I sat by the mountain slope to rest. When the morning came, I would listen around to see if there’s anyone above,” Lien said.

On Tuesday, Lien heard the sounds of people talking from above and screamed for help. She was rescued afterwards.

Nguyen Thi Bich Lien (C) with staff members of the management board of monuments and the Yen Tu national park after being rescued from a cliff there. Photo courtesy of the board

Le Tien Dung, head of the management board of monuments and Yen Tu National Park, said Lien had been exhausted after days without food and water.

“The victim was carried off the mountain and her health is now stable. The management board has organized a car to bring Lien back home to Hanoi. Her family has been looking for her throughout the last seven days,” Dung said.

Dong Pagoda is on the highest peak of Yen Tu (about 1,068 meters above sea level). Lien fell down a cliff about 50 meters from the pagoda, where it’s often foggy.