A pensioner and her elderly mother survived on each other's urine for four days after they became trapped in a darkened lift in their private villa.
The 82-year-old woman and her 64-year-old daughter were the only two people at home and did not have their mobile phones on them, their doctor told Shanghai-based news outlets.
The two elderly women, who were recently discharged from Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital in north-western China's Shaanxi Province, went into survival mode after the lift in their home malfunctioned.
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With no food, water or means of communication with the outside, they collected and drank each other's urine in order to stay alive, eventually breaking out of the lift after spending three nights inside, Doctor Yin Aiping explained.
The doctor said: "The two patients live together in a private villa and have a lift they don't often use. On the day of the incident, the mother and daughter were taking the lift to the second floor when everything suddenly went black. There was no light at all.
"Because they were on their way to bathe, they didn't bring their mobile phones. They had nothing they could use to contact anybody, and they were the only two people at home.
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"The mother stood on her daughter and used her fist to break the light panel above their heads. She then pulled out the wires, and they used them to it make a small gap in the doors. They took turns sitting by the opening in order to breathe fresh air."
She added: "Then they fought hunger and thirst. They knew that, in order to survive, they would need water and food.
"The mother and daughter agreed - whenever the mother urinated, the daughter would collect it with her hands. When the daughter urinated, the mother would do the same. This continued for four days and three nights."
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On the fourth day, they managed to prise the lift doors open with their hands, and the daughter ran out to get help.
Doctor Yin noted that both mother and daughter were exhausted and severely dehydrated when they were brought to the hospital.
Both recovered after treatment and were discharged. Doctor Yin added: "We know that urine is mostly water. Although it contains some toxins, it can still be used to temporarily sustain life.
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"These fluids are vitally important. Without them, these two people could not have survived for so long."
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