Body fat saves obese woman from drowning in suicide attempt, say experts

A suicide attempt of a woman who jumped into a river in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province was supposedly thwarted because she was too obese to sink, media reported Saturday.



The 50-year-old woman is in stable condition and recovering at the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital after local police rescued her from the two-meter-deep river near Shencemen Park at 10 am on Friday.



Police were called after witnesses reported seeing a "dead body" floating on the river's surface.



However, after dispatching a boat to inspect what officers thought to be a corpse floating five meters from the riverbank, police discovered the woman was in fact alive.



Two policemen jumped into the river and successfully rescued the woman using flotation devices and ropes.



The unnamed woman was immediately sent to the hospital for treatment.



The victim later told authorities she attempted suicide following a series of arguments with her husband.



According to "experts," the woman owes her buoyancy to her high body fat percentage and the recent pollution that has altered the water density of the river.



Jinling Evening News

