Man rescued after six days trapped in Bali well with broken leg

Holidaymaker said he stumbled into abandoned well after being chased by wild dog

Jacob Matthew Robert  being rescued after he had fallen into a well. Photograph: Badung Police/AFP
Jacob Matthew Robert being rescued after he had fallen into a well. Photograph: Badung Police/AFP

A 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 has been rescued after being trapped for nearly a week, police said.

Roberts Jacob Matthews (29) stumbled into the nearly empty 4m (13ft) deep concrete well and was unable to get out for six days until a farmer in Pecatu village heard his cries for help on Saturday, officers said.

Mr Matthews, who has been on holiday in Bali since March, holds a Ukrainian passport and a UK driving licence, according to police chief Yusak Agustinus Sooai.

Villagers had passed him food and water and tried to help by throwing him a rope, but he said he could not be pulled up because of his injuries.

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Mr 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 Mr Matthews out late on 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,” Mr Sooai said. “He survived only by drinking water in the well.”–AP