A man in Jiangsu, China, was rescued after accidentally locking himself inside the boot of his car and becoming trapped for nearly five hours in temperatures approaching 40°C.
The man, identified by authorities as Xiao Wang, became stuck after the car keys and his mobile phone were left in the front section of the vehicle. With no way to open the boot from inside, his situation became increasingly dangerous as the intense heat continued.
After being trapped for several hours, Xiao Wang managed to use his phone’s voice assistant to make an emergency call to 110, China’s police emergency number. He told officers that he was trapped inside his car boot and unable to get out.
Officers from the Dafenggang Coastal Defence Police Station in Yancheng’s Dafeng District received the unusual emergency call at around 5.13pm on August 18 and immediately kept the man on the phone while heading to the area.
However, the biggest challenge was locating the vehicle. Xiao Wang was unable to provide officers with his exact location, leaving police with limited information to work with.
In a creative search effort, officers activated their patrol vehicle’s siren while travelling through the area. They then asked Xiao Wang to listen carefully and report changes in the volume of the siren through the phone.
By comparing how loud or faint the siren sounded to him, officers gradually narrowed down the search area until they were able to pinpoint the location of the vehicle.
Police eventually found Xiao Wang and freed him from the boot after he had endured around five hours in the extreme heat.
After being rescued, the man was reportedly overwhelmed with emotion and repeatedly thanked the officers, telling them that he could have died if they had not arrived in time.
