Death is swift for some people. For others, it takes a while longer.
For Xiao Qiumei, it took her a few agonizing seconds.
That is because Qiumei fell from a height of about 50 meters, up from the crane where she worked, down to the girder below.
And everything was recorded.
According to her co-workers who discovered Qiumei body a while later, the phone that was used to record her fall was "still in her hand while she crashed."
At that time, Qiumei was still working after most of her co-workers had left the construction site.
Following her death, the video of her falling has went viral, and being shared all over social media networks.
It all began on one bright sunny day, on July 20, 2021.
Qiumei, a professional crane operator from Zunyi City, was doing her work in Guizhou, in western China’s Zhejiang Province.
During her shift, the 23-year-old woman who was apparently a social media influencer, squeezed one brief moment to make a video in a live stream on Douyin (Chinese version TikTok), up from her tower crane.
In the last video of her that was live streamed on her @Xiaoquimei account, she was seen speaking to the camera, and made some dance moves.
But all of a sudden, the camera suddenly switched to images of blurry crane equipment past the lens.
Qiumei was heard screaming when fell about 160 feet.
Qiumei was known as a cheerful woman who regularly shared videos on social media of her job as a crane operator.
With more than 100,000 followers on Douyin, Qiumei was one of the most popular content creators and TikTok star in China.
She gained huge followings, not only because of her petite and youthful looks, but also due to the fact that her work involved physical endurance in a male-dominated situation.
This was very unusual for such a young woman.
Among others, it was her dance videos that made her a huge hit on the platform.
Local media and netizens even called her "the prettiest tower crane girl."
Many said that Qiumei looked way younger than her reported 23 years, even when she claimed to be a mother of two children.
High up while doing her work, Qiumei frequently share her daily work, recording her perspective of the site.
Many have cautioned her to be careful and pay attention to safety, knowing that as a crane operator, her work space can be set up pretty high.
But as a professional, Qiumei was a fearless woman.
Her family later confirmed her death, and said that Qiumei fell due to a misstep, and not because of a Tiktok stunt.
The passing of Qiumei has left many of her fans shattered.
Many of them have expressed their condolences, and also mourned for her death.
The only evidence of Qiumei's fall, is the footage found on her phone and on the internet. At the scene, there were no witnesses nor no video surveillance cameras were present.
Following her death, it was reported that Qiumei's ashes have been sent back to her hometown in Guizhou.
