A woman in China found herself in an unusual and embarrassing predicament after her foot became lodged inside the steering wheel of her BMW while she was resting in the driver’s seat.
Despite spending nearly two hours trying to free herself, including using an entire tube of hand cream as lubricant, she eventually had to call firefighters for assistance.
The incident, which took place in Tianjin on 24 July, has since gone viral on Chinese social media after videos of the rescue were shared online.
Foot became trapped while resting in car
According to local media reports, the woman, identified only by her surname Song, had just finished lunch and decided to rest inside her car before heading off to pick up a friend later that afternoon.
She reclined the driver’s seat and casually rested one of her legs on the steering wheel, a habit she admitted she had done before without any problems.
While adjusting her clothes, her foot accidentally slipped through the centre opening of the steering wheel. When she tried pulling it back out, it became firmly wedged.
Realising she could not free herself, Song contacted a friend through a video call and spent the next two hours attempting various methods to escape.
Hand cream trick fails after entire tube used
During the lengthy ordeal, Song and her friend tried numerous ideas to loosen her trapped foot.
One of the more desperate attempts involved squeezing an entire tube of hand cream onto her foot in the hope that the lubricant would allow it to slide free.
Unfortunately, the trick did not work.
As time passed, her foot began swelling, making it even more difficult to remove from the steering wheel.
Song admitted she initially refused to call firefighters because she felt embarrassed and worried about wasting emergency services’ time over such an awkward situation.
Firefighters quickly come to the rescue
Eventually, after encouragement from her friend, Song decided to seek professional help.
Her friend reportedly reminded her that the longer she waited, the more her foot would swell, making the rescue even more complicated.
Firefighters arrived promptly at the scene and carefully assessed the situation before trying several techniques to release her foot.
After a short rescue operation, they successfully freed her without causing any injuries.
Humorous exchange during rescue
The rescue also included a light-hearted moment that amused many online viewers.
As firefighters worked to free her, Song jokingly asked whether videos of the incident would end up being uploaded to Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.
One firefighter laughed and replied that if it was posted online, they would “apply a beauty filter” for her.
Meanwhile, because Song had remained on a video call with her friend throughout the entire ordeal, her friend watched the rescue unfold in real time.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, the friend jokingly suggested that if nothing else worked, firefighters could simply cut off her foot, prompting laughter despite the uncomfortable situation.
Woman urges others to avoid similar mishaps
Following the rescue, Song expressed her gratitude to the firefighters for responding quickly and helping her out of the awkward predicament.
She also urged others to be more careful when resting inside their vehicles, saying she never imagined such a simple action could leave her trapped for hours.
Although the incident ended safely, the unusual rescue has attracted widespread attention online, with many social media users amused by the bizarre circumstances while others praised the firefighters for treating the situation professionally and with humour.