Man in China accidentally drops $190k ring for son's fiancee into ditch, hires salvage team to scour drains
Salvage workers searching for the ring which had disappeared into the murky depths of a drainage channel.
PHOTO: Screengrab/Baidu
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 24, 2024 2:35 AMBySoh Yan Ning
How far would you go to retrieve a lost item?
A man in China went to great lengths, hiring a salvage team to recover an expensive jade ring after accidentally dropping it into a drainage ditch nine floors below in Guangdong on Jan 5, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Monday (Jan 22).
The mishap reportedly occurred while the man was attempting to film a video of the one million yuan (S$190,103) ring by the window.
The ring was a custom-made gift from the man, a father, intended to be given to his future daughter-in-law at his son's upcoming wedding, said the son on Douyin.
The salvage team's search for the ring took more than 72 hours and drew the attention of many onlookers.
After three days and three nights of search efforts, the jade ring was finally found on Jan 8, reported Red Star News.
A member of the team, surnamed Fan, reportedly said he and his colleagues were each paid 500 yuan a day to search for it.
Celebrating the recovery, the father set off fireworks, eliciting cheers from the onlookers.
Despite falling into a drainage ditch, the ring was fortunately undamaged apart from being covered in some sludge.
The father expressed his joy at retrieving the ring in perfect condition, saying that the ring had meant more to him than its monetary value.
According to the neighbourhood committee, the drainage ditch was undergoing desilting work at that moment, which helped make the search easier.
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