A girl has miraculously survived after falling on a pole in a building site, and it piercing through her neck and mouth.
Taiba, 8, was cut free and taken to hospital, where surgeons removed it during a 35-minute operation.
Local medics said that somehow it missed crucial nerves and blood vessels to the brain, and that she was talking within eight hours.
She's recovering at home and should make a full recovery.
Dr Rajkumar Koli, who led the operation, said: "It was the most grievous case I’ve encountered in my professional life."
Taiba, who lives in Bhulanpur village, in Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, India, was playing when she fell on the protruding rod.
It pierced through her lower jaw and came out of the mouth, and the other children ran to get her family.
They cut a portion of the rod and rushed her to the nearest district hospital, 15km away in Motipur, at around 6pm, on October 4.
Dr Koli said: "In view of the critical condition of the girl, I was called to do the emergency surgery.
"I got the patient’s vitals checked and, understanding the danger, told the girl’s parents to take her to Lucknow Medical College, around 140 kms away.
"But the parents were not in a position to take the girl that far, and requested me to conduct the surgery.
“It was a challenging situation as the x-ray facility at the district hospital is not available after 5pm.
"I then immediately informed the anaesthetist to apply local anaesthesia and started the surgery to save the major blood vessels around the pierced area.
"The rod had firmly got stuck, and to loosen I had to make a 1cm cut and pulled the rod out slowly. The procedure took only about 35 minutes."
The doctor said it was lucky the rod hadn't snagged blood vessels to the brain and the windpipe.
“Removing the rod without even mildly affecting those organs was a challenge,” said Dr Koli.
He added: “After stopping the bleeding outside, dressing the wound, and stabilising her condition, the patient was shifted to the ward for recovery.
"After three days, the patient was discharged.
“After the rod was successfully removed, the girl started talking within eight hours.
"Now the girl is absolutely doing well at her home and is able to talk and eat normally."