A Saudi man rescued from an abandoned well here last week thought he would die after spending three days trapped without food and water.

“I was about to bid farewell to this world if it were not for the shepherd’s dog that managed to lead his master to me,” Rawa Badr Al-Baz told Al-Arabiya News from his hospital bed on Monday.

Al-Baz broke his legs when he fell into the 28-meter-deep well south of Riyadh. “When I fell into the well, I lost consciousness for a whole day,” he said.

Although he regained consciousness the following day, Al-Baz said he could not move because of his injuries. “The next day I couldn’t move or walk,” he said.

Food and water was his primary concern. “I thought about how I would get out but the first thing on my mind was water. This was the second day when the sun was beating down on my head,” he said.

“My major concern was water and then how to save myself from the snakes around me. I saw them slide past me,” he said.

His rescue came on the fourth day when his hopes were fading. He said he could hear what sounded like animals and cried out for help for hours, doubtful that anyone would hear his pleas.

“On the fourth day I was tired of calling out for help and to my surprise I heard someone (the shepherd) calling out to me from above."

"He spoke to me, and the most important thing he did was give me water. And thank God he notified the Civil Defense, which got me out of the hole,” he said.

The incident occurred after his car broke down in a desert area about 100 km from the capital. He had climbed a hill looking for help and fell into the abandoned well on his way down.

Al-Baz said he hoped to recover fully from his ordeal following his hospital treatment.