Tourist rescued after being trapped 6 days in well in Bali

DENPASAR – DENPASAR, IndonesiaA Ukrainian man who fell into an abandoned well and broke his leg while being chased by a wild dog on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali was rescued after being trapped for nearly a week, police said Monday.

Roberts Jacob Matthews, 29, stumbled into the nearly empty 4-meter (13-foot) -deep concrete well and was unable to get out for six days until a farmer in Pecatu village heard his weak voice asking for help on Saturday, police said.

He informed other villagers, who gave Matthews food and water and tried to help by throwing him a rope, but he said he couldn't be pulled up because of his injuries.

Police chief Yusak Agustinus Sooai said a team from a local search-and-rescue agency, wearing personal protective equipment because of the coronavirus outbreak, went down into the well and lifted Matthews out late Saturday and took him to a nearby hospital for treatment.

“He told authorities that he had been trying to evade a wild dog that chased him,” Sooai said. “He survived only by drinking water in the well.”

Matthews, who has been vacationing on Bali since March, holds a Ukraine passport and a driver's license issued by the United Kingdom, Sooai said.