Man Accidentally Flys 200 Miles In Hydrogen Balloon

During the use of the balloon to harvest pine nuts from a tree, it became untethered and flew away. After spending two days aloft, a man was found safe, traveling about 200 miles.

A man and his partner were collecting pine nuts in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China on Sunday when the balloon sailed off, and they lost control.

Searches were launched for Hu and the escaped balloon after the other person jumped to the ground.

CCTV reported that he was instructed to deflate the balloon slowly to land safely the following day by rescuers through his cellphone. Near the Russian border, he reached the ground nearly 200 miles to the northeast of the Fangzheng region.

Despite his lower back pain, CCTV reported that Hu was in good health, possibly due to standing the whole time he was in the air.

A Hailin Forestry Administration Co. official who provided only his surname, Fu, confirmed the balloon incident on Thursday and described Hu’s age as 40. He declined to provide further details about Hu’s condition but said he was recovering in a hospital.

In the northeast, formerly known as Manchuria, pine nuts are a common ingredient in many food dishes.

For more on this story, please consider these sources:

  1. This man accidentally flew 200 miles in a balloon-fueled nut-picking mishap – SB Nation