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Runaway boy, 10, ate roasted snake and fish during 24-day escape from violent father in China's wilderness

A grass snake  - PA
A grass snake - PA

A ten-year-old Chinese boy survived for 24 days in the wilderness, where he ate roasted snake and freshly caught fish after running more than 60 miles from his violent father.

The boy, who was named 'Miu' in reports, was exhausted, scared and dirty when police found him in a makeshift house he constructed in a remote area of the China’s mountainous southwestern province of Yunnan.

He said he didn’t eat anything for the first day, but caught a snake two days later, which he roasted.

“I was so hungry, but it was quite yummy,” he told police, according to yunnan.cn, a news portal that is run by the Yunnan government.

Yunnan province, China - Credit: AFP
Yunnan province, China Credit: AFP

Young Miu prepared for his escape into the wilderness from the moment he set off, picking up a broken dish and some lighters from a refuse centre in his home town of Xuanwei.

He constructed a makeshift stove, and he also built a fishing device from a drinks bottle.

In a diary that was found by police, he said he caught three fish and roasted them over a fire.

The boy also said he overcame ailments with traditional Chinese medicine, using tips he had learned from older members of his family.

“To help cure a cold that I caught, I picked dandelion on the mountain and boiled it with water," he said.

He also said he boiled gentian root to treat his diarrhoea.

The rapeseed plants in full bloom and ready for harvest in the farms in Luoping, southwest China's Yunnan province - Credit: AFP
The rapeseed plants in full bloom and ready for harvest in the farms in Luoping, southwest China's Yunnan province Credit: AFP

The boy said he originally intended to walk to the city of Chongqing, which is about 600km (373 miles) away from home. He eventually covered more than 100km (62 miles), yunnan.cn said.

He left home with no money but found 30 yuan (£3.40) on the street, and earned eight yuan selling newspapers that he found. He used the cash to buy steamed bread buns and fruit.

His father thanked police when the boy returned, the report said, telling them: “I will definitely improve my behaviour, and won’t curse or beat my son.”

Additional reporting by Christine Wei