In what is being described as a "miracle," an 11-year-old boy in eastern China survived after getting shot through the eye socket with an arrow, according to Britain's Metro.

Teachers at Jiutai City school believe Liu Cheong was practicing archery when he was accidentally shot by a 13-year-old teammate. The arrow went completely through his head, and it would have kept going were it not for the back if his skull. He survived because the arrow missed his brain.

Doctors, who had to cut part of the arrow off just so he could fit in the CT scanner, spent hours slicing away parts of his skull to remove the 16 inch-long object.

"It is a miracle he survived the accident," said one medic. The boy still faces a risk of infection and may need more operations.

Check out the X-ray, above, showing the arrow lodged in the boy's head.