Builder shoots nail into heart

A builder miraculously survived after firing a 6cm nail straight into his heart. The careless workman accidentally fired off a nail gun towards his chest and sent the sharp item hurtling into his body.

Amazingly, it was some time before labourer Ling Shen, 38, of Taiwan, even realised the nail was embedded in the left chamber of his heart.

Mr Shen said: "I often use a nail gun during work, but this time I accidentally held it in the opposite direction. When I fired a nail, I felt a sudden sharp pain on my chest."



The nail went into the worker's body with such force it only left a small red mark on his chest. He added: "I was not even sure if there was a nail in the gun at the time. I went to hospital because it was very painful and the x-ray found the nail had entered my heart."

Doctor Zhou Junren, in Gaoxiong, Taiwan, said: "A 6cm nail had pierced through the vein and into the left chamber of the heart. We sent him into the operation room immediately, opening his chest, pulling out the nail and repairing his heart and veins."

Mr Shen is now recovering in hospital.