A university student working as a food delivery driver in China has been hailed a hero after spotting a blood-stained pillow with an emergency number scrawled on it, leading to the rescue of a woman trapped in her bedroom for 30 hours without food or water.
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A shocking discovery on the roadside
The incident occurred on August 12 in Leshan, Sichuan province, southwestern China, according to a report by South China Morning Post(SCMP). The delivery driver, surnamed Zhang, noticed a white pillow on the roadside near a residential compound. It was stained with dark red liquid and marked with the numbers “110 625.”
Alarmed by the sight, Zhang immediately phoned the police. With help from a nearby hotel worker who recognised the pillow’s design, authorities traced it to a homestay on the 25th floor of Building 6. The number “625” corresponded to the unit’s floor and apartment number.
Police intervention and rescue
Police officers, initially suspecting a violent crime or kidnapping, rushed to the location. After knocking repeatedly and eventually forcing entry, they discovered the truth.
{{/usCountry}}Police officers, initially suspecting a violent crime or kidnapping, rushed to the location. After knocking repeatedly and eventually forcing entry, they discovered the truth.
{{/usCountry}}The homestay’s owner, a woman surnamed Zhou, had been locked inside her bedroom for more than 30 hours. While cleaning, a sudden gust of wind had slammed the door shut, jamming a broken latch and trapping her inside without access to her phone, which was left in the living room, SCMP reported.
Desperate attempts to signal for help
Zhou tried everything to alert neighbours. She stamped her feet, banged on the door, and even jumped around to make noise. She hung a red suit out of the window and dropped foam boards from her bed to the ground below, but none of these attempts drew attention.
As time dragged on, she faced extreme mental distress, with no access to food, water, or a toilet. In a final act of desperation, she bit her finger and used her blood to write “110 625” on a pillow, which she hurled out of the window.
“When the police broke down the door, I was as excited as if I were seeing family,” Zhou told Red Star News as cited by SCMP.
Gratitude and recognition
Zhou offered Zhang 1,000 yuan (£110) as a token of gratitude, but he declined. “He is still a student, yet he refused to accept it. I was deeply touched. It made me feel the warmth of society,” she said.
Zhang modestly remarked: “It was just a small act of kindness; anyone would have called the police.”
His actions did not go unnoticed. Meituan, the company he was working for, awarded him the honorary title of “Pioneer Rider” along with a 2,000 yuan reward.