THIS is the terrifying moment a tourist was left in mid-air hanging by a rope as a fierce waterfall gushed behind him.

Footage shows the man suspended before the waterfall as a powerful torrent crashes over him leaving him violently thrashing in the water struggling to breathe.

Tang struggled to breath as the violent water crushed upon him

The white water crashed directly into his face

The incident occurred at Yangjiaotan, a waterfall area in central China, on August 15.

The man – named Tang – was the first to tackle the adventure activity and after rappelling half-way down the rope, he quickly became stuck.

He struggled desperately against the white water, spinning in circles and flailing his limbs as he dangled above dangerous rocks.

Tang revealed he was trapped for around five minutes.

Tang was left thrashing in the air for five minutes before he was taken to safety

He was hospitalised following the ordeal with an acute stress reaction

Recounting the horror, he remembers choking on the water, unable to breathe.

He said: “When I was getting into the water, I realised the water flow was quite strong, but the instructor told me I could go down.”

“After I went into the water, I was immediately knocked away by the current and was submerged several times.”

He was left with multiple injuries including abrasions and soft-issue injuries across his body.

The rapid water left him with multiple injures

Tang initiated compensation proceedings following the incident

When he returned to Zhengzhou in the evening, he was struggling to walk and requested the company assist him to the hospital.

Tang was subsequently admitted to the psychological medicine department in hospital for two days and was diagnosed with an acute stress reaction.

Tang noted that the group leader previously failed to check on him during the entire journey back to the vehicle.

He said: “Only my teammates comforted me because I had multiple scratches and injuries.”

Tang was later told the company’s insurance would cover his medical costs but this did not satisfy him.

He wanted the company to compensate him for lost earnings, psychological distress and personal belongings that were swept away by the water, in addition to medical expenses covered by insurance.

The company rejected parts of Tang’s account, with manager Guo saying the guide had acted quickly after the tourist was struck by the water.

Guo said: “After he was hit by the water, our group leader quickly rescued him. The whole process took nearly three minutes.

“After he was rescued, our group leader also asked about his condition and checked his body. He had a red mark around his waist, and he said he had swallowed some water and felt dizzy and nauseous.”

Guo added that the guide continued supporting Tang while helping him cross the water.

According to the company Tang lowered his psychological compensation request from £5,470 to £2,190 but they rejected it because he provided no medical proof.

Guo said the company later offered to refund the booking fee, pay compensation equivalent to twice the booking cost and cover treatment expenses, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

He said: “We will not avoid the fact that this caused him a bad experience.

“Psychological trauma can be big or small. There has to be a standard. After treatment, we can use the medical diagnosis to discuss this matter.”

The company said the waterfall route had since been suspended for organised groups.

Local authorities and tourism officials said the incident occurred in an undeveloped area and that they were following up on the case.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16865217/tourist-hangs-rope-trapped-waterfall-desperately-flails/