Chinese carpenter survives being impaled with a steel pole

Holy cow of the day: a Sichuan carpenter fell off the second story of a construction site and landed on a steel pole. It impaled him completely through, from his waist to the side of his neck, but managed to be not fatality-inducing. He was able to get it removed safely and is now in stable condition.

The man, surnamed Jiang, is 46 years old and has been working as a carpenter for over 20 years. On July 18, he accidentally fell from the second floor of a construction site, straight onto a 1-meter long, 2.5cm diameter steel pole. The pole pierced through his liver, diaphram, right lower lung and left shoulder, up through the neck. He fainted almost right away.

He was sent to the hospital, where doctors were able to safely remove the steel bar. All in all, removing the bar took more than three hours of surgery.

"I've been a doctor for 20 years and have never seen such a thrilling, unusual penetrating injury. Fortunateley, the steel did not pierce through major blood vessels or his heart," one of the doctors said.

While Jiang's vital signs are currently stable, he still must contend with possible infection.

Netease has a picture of Jiang with his injury before the surgery, but be warned before you click in: it's quite graphic!