A rare and dramatic incident has occurred in Anhui Province, China, where police discovered a woman frozen almost like an ice statue amid heavy snowfall. She survived eight hours of complete immobility in temperatures plunging to –15 degrees Celsius, in what authorities and doctors have described as a medical miracle.

According to official sources, in the early hours of January 20, local police received an emergency call from residents who reported spotting a strange object resembling a “human ice sculpture” lying near the Huai River. Given the extreme cold, officers immediately treated the report as a critical situation.

Upon arriving at the scene, police were stunned to find a woman entirely covered in snow and completely motionless. In video footage recorded at the site, one officer can be heard approaching and exclaiming in disbelief: “Is this really a person? How could this happen?”

Although it initially appeared too late, closer inspection revealed faint signs of life. The woman’s eyelashes were still slightly fluttering, and there was minimal movement beneath her skin. Realizing she was alive but in critical condition, officers swiftly pulled her out of the snow pit. Her body had already stiffened from the cold, forcing police to handle her with extreme care as they carried her into a patrol vehicle, turned on the heater, and rushed her to the hospital.

Preliminary investigations suggest the woman may have left home and become stranded along the riverbank, where she remained partially buried in snow for nearly eight hours before being discovered by passersby.

At the hospital, doctors diagnosed her with severe hypothermia. Thanks to prompt emergency treatment and controlled rewarming, she eventually passed the most critical stage and her vital signs gradually stabilized. The attending physician described her survival as an extraordinary medical miracle.

“She was found just before her body completely lost heat and entered irreversible multiple organ failure,” the doctor said.

Medical experts believe the circumstances that trapped her may have inadvertently saved her life. Although the outdoor temperature was dangerously low, being stuck in a deep snow pit created a form of natural insulation. The thick surrounding snow acted as a wind barrier, shielding her body from direct exposure to icy gusts and significantly slowing heat loss.