A Chinese woman who went missing for 15 days have been found trapped in a abandoned well in Zhongfeng Village in Henan province. She survived her ordeal, thanks to pieces of corn cobs and rainwater.

Su Qixiu was in the corn field looking for medicinal herbs on Sept 1. She didn't notice the well because it was surrounded by tall stalks of corn.

Mature maize ear on a stalk

The 38-year-old married Ms Su told local Henan newspaper Dahe Daily that she tried to grab onto some corn stalks, but this proved futile.

As she fell into the well, so did some ears of corn. And it became her staple food, plus the rainwater that fell in between.

Ms Su said tried hard as she did, but she couldn't scale up the well because its walls were so smooth.

"There was nothing [in the well], [so I] ate a bit of raw corn and called for help every day," Ms Su told the Dahe Daily.

"I spent every day hoping that someone would walk by and rescue me. I called out every day, and although there was no response, I did not give up," the newspaper reported.

Rainwater

Help eventually came on Sept 16 when a villager harvesting corn heard her cries. The fire brigade was immediately called.

Ms Su, who used to weigh 115lb (52kg), lost considerable weight, according to her husband Li Qunming.

"She's so thin I'm afraid she may not even weigh 80lb (36kg)," he said.

"Although Su did not have any obvious injuries, she still could not speak or eat. The functions of her internal organs have not recovered, but she is in stable condition and receiving fluids," Xinhua said.