Who was Xiao Qiumei? TikToker, 23, falls 160ft to death while live-streaming dance atop crane
A popular social media celebrity from the Chinese version of TikTok recently died after a crane-related accident where she fell 160 feet to the ground. Identified as Xiao Qiumei, the influence was reportedly filming a video inside the crane cabin before her fatal fall. She was one of the most widely known faces on the Chinese app Douyin, which is their version of the micro vlogging app, and even though a viral video has caught Qiumei's tragic fall to the ground, her family insists she was diligent and professional about her work and couldn't have possibly used a phone during her shift operating the crane.
News of Qiumei's death follows that of another influencer, Sofia Cheung who died while taking a selfie at a waterfall as she fell 16 feet in front of the Tsing Dai stream near Yuen Long, Hong Kong, on July 10. More recently, 22-year-old influencer Julia Hennessy died after a crash during a road trip, which left her husband in critical condition. Another young influencer identified as Odalis Santos Mena died recently from a botched cosmetic procedure to reduce underarm sweating. Social media was left abuzz the entire month of July with similar incidents popping up and Qiumei's death just adds to the list of influencers who have lost their lives amidst tragic stunts.
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Who was Xiao Qiumei?
Know across Douyin with the username @Xiaoqiumei, the Chinese influencer bragged of more than 100,000 followers on the platform and earned the title of being one of the nation's most popular online personalities. At the young age of 23, Qiumei was a professional crane operator who had gained recognition across the Chinese version of Tiktok for documenting her daily work life on the platform. Her other talent was dancing and her dance videos became exceedingly popular among users of the app.
The mother of two also often shared daily life updates with her subscribers on the platform. News of Qiumei's death was confirmed by her family on July 24, 2021, as they reported that the accident took place just minutes before the end of her shift around 5.40pm on July 20. Qiumei was reportedly at a crane operating site near Quzhou in the Zhejiang Province of Western China when the tragic accident happened. As she was live-streaming a dance video to her thousands of followers, Qiumei reportedly fell from the crane while the camera was still on and caught the disturbing footage of her falling down the crane's gigantic height 160 feet above ground.
Xiao Qiumei's fatal fall filmed on livestream
The video of Qiumei's fatal fall has garnered massive shock and horror from fans all over the globe. The way she can be seen dancing just moments before the camera cuts and jerks around with blurry footage of the crane in the frame has left people stunned. The Sun reports that bystanders and eyewitnesses reported that Qiumei still had her phone in her hand as she succumbed to the fall. Most of her coworkers had reportedly left for home when the accident happened.
Qiumei's family however denies claims of the star still filming herself at the time of her fall. They insist the Quzhou native wouldn't use her phone during work hours but confirmed the cause of death was the fall. According to her family members, Qiumei reportedly fell after “missing a step” while coming down from the crane cabin. Qiumei’s funeral has already taken place, claim reports, adding that she was cremated and her ashes preserved on a small table under an umbrella, as local tradition dictates.