5-Year-Old Chinese Girl Swallows 50-Gram Gold Bar; Retrieved Successfully

Beijing: A shocking incident has come to light from China, a minor girl swallowed a 50-gram gold bar in northern China. The 5-year-old was hospitalised at Beijing Children's Hospital last Sunday (Aug 16) after her condition became critical. The heavy, dense gold bar risked scratching her stomach lining, threatening severe internal bleeding and organ perforation.

The incident took place when the girl reportedly swallowed the gold bar while playing at home, according to a South China Morning Post report. The small gold bar measured 4 cm in length and remained lodged in the stomach after the girl's consumption, as an X-ray revealed. Fortunately, the 4 cm-long bar was retrieved successfully by doctors in hospital.

A team of doctors retrieved the bar within a few minutes. Despite the gold bar being lodged in the girl's gastric cavity, a space that offered extremely narrow operating conditions. The girl has recovered as well and is showing all stable vital signs.

Netizens react

As soon as the post regarding the incident surfaced on social media, it triggered funny reactions from netizens on X.

One of the users jokingly wrote, "She has an appetite for luxury at young age."

"She thought it’s Kit Kat," another user wrote.

"That kid knows the good stuff, has great potential when she grows up," a third user wrote.

The incident is a wake-up call for parents with small children to keep choking hazard objects away from them.