"Oh No"...Crew Searches Train Restroom to Recover 13-Don Gold Bracelet Flushed by Mistake

Gold Bracelet Lost in Train Toilet During Journey in China
Maintenance Team Searches Bare-Handed...Recovered in 40 Minutes

A gold bracelet worth 13 don that fell into the toilet of a Chinese high-speed train restroom was safely recovered after a search by the maintenance team.

According to Guangxi Daily and Sina.com on the 22nd, at 5:36 p.m. on the 21st, passenger A, who was in Car No. 3 of high-speed train G928 traveling from West Kowloon in Hong Kong to Nanning in Guangxi Province, China, asked a crew member for help, saying that a gold bracelet had fallen into the restroom and been flushed away.

Passenger loses gold bracelet worth 13 don in China's high-speed train restroom: Gwangsi Ilbo

According to the reports, after using the restroom in the car, A flushed the toilet and, in the process, the gold bracelet worn on the wrist snapped, fell into the bowl, and was flushed away. The bracelet weighed about 50 grams (13 don) and was reportedly worth around 12 million won. At the time, there were about 28 minutes left until A’s scheduled stop.

Crew member Chai Sui assessed the situation and immediately instructed the maintenance engineer in charge to check the site. However, the waste storage system of the train restroom is not a direct-discharge structure, the water had already been flushed, and the train was still in motion, making immediate retrieval difficult.

In response, the railway authorities temporarily closed the restroom in Car No. 3 and decided to begin a full-scale search after the train arrived at the maintenance depot.

At 8:28 p.m. that day, the Fuxing high-speed train entered the inspection shed at the Nanning rolling stock depot.

Yan Zeke, who was in charge of maintenance, said, "There was a large volume of night maintenance work, so it was a race against time," adding, "We had to find the passenger’s gold bracelet while also ensuring that the train could resume operation on schedule." That day, 50 trainsets were scheduled for maintenance, the largest number since the opening of the Nanning depot. An inspection confirmed that the gold bracelet was inside the waste storage tank.

A gold bracelet weighing 13 don that had disappeared into the restroom of a Chinese high-speed train was returned to its owner after a 40-minute search by the maintenance team. Gwangsi Ilbo

After the train came to a complete stop, the maintenance team removed the lower cover and disassembled the tank to begin the search. The internal space was narrow and poorly lit, making it difficult to use tools, so they ultimately had to work with their bare hands.

Yan Zeke checked the inside from different angles and reached deep into the tank to make sure nothing was missed. The team succeeded in finding the gold bracelet in about 40 minutes.

The railway authorities are reportedly in contact with A to carry out the procedure for returning the item.