On September 13, 2025, a harrowing incident unfolded in the forests of Hunan province, China, when a 48-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Qin, accidentally fell into an abandoned well nearly eight meters deep. What began as a routine walk quickly turned into a desperate fight for survival, as reported by South China Morning Post and Sing Tao Daily. For the next 54 hours, Qin found herself trapped in the darkness, surrounded by snakes, clinging to life and the cold, crumbling walls of the ancient well.
The ordeal started innocently enough. Qin was enjoying a walk through the wooded outskirts of Quanzhou when she lost her footing and tumbled into the concealed well. The area was overgrown, and the well itself was hidden beneath a thick blanket of weeds and underbrush. When Qin failed to return home, her family grew alarmed and began searching the forest, but their efforts proved fruitless. By the afternoon of September 14, realizing the gravity of the situation, they reported her disappearance to local authorities.
With time ticking and hope dwindling, Qin’s son reached out to the Jinjiang Ruitong Blue Sky Emergency Rescue Center for help. According to SCMP, a team of ten rescuers, equipped with drones fitted with thermal imaging cameras, was swiftly dispatched to the area. The hours dragged on with no sign of Qin. The forest was vast, and the well’s opening was barely visible amid the dense vegetation. But at approximately 1:45 p.m. on the day of the rescue, a faint cry for help pierced the silence. Following the sound, the rescue team hacked away the weeds and finally discovered the well—and Qin, still alive, though barely.
The sight that greeted rescuers was chilling. Qin was clinging to the wall inside the well, her hands gripping cracks and stones, her body pale and trembling from prolonged exposure to the water. She had managed to keep herself afloat by holding onto a stone embedded in the wall. “I was lucky that I could swim,” Qin later told reporters, as quoted by Sing Tao Daily. “I kept myself above the water by clutching a stone in the wall.”
But swimming skills alone were not enough to secure her escape. The structure of the well made any attempt to climb out impossible—the upper section was narrow, while the lower part flared out, giving her no purchase. She tried to dig out three stones from the wall to use as makeshift footholds, but the walls were slick and unforgiving. “There were many times when I felt hopeless and almost gave up,” Qin admitted. “The bottom of the well was pitch dark, there were so many mosquitoes, and snakes swam around me. I was bitten by mosquitoes all over, and a snake bit my arm. Luckily, it wasn’t venomous and didn’t cause serious harm.”
Qin’s physical injuries were significant. After her rescue, she was rushed to the hospital, where doctors found two broken ribs, a minor lung puncture, and severe wounds on her hands—testament to the hours spent gripping the rough stone. She was kept under observation for several days as her body recovered from the ordeal.
What kept her going during those endless hours? Qin said that thoughts of her elderly parents, her husband, and her daughter—who had just started university—gave her the strength to endure. “I wanted to give up countless times,” she confessed, “but when I thought about my family and how they would cope without me, I told myself to hang on until help arrived.”
The story of Qin’s survival quickly went viral across Chinese and international social media. Comments poured in from people moved by her resilience and the dramatic rescue. “It’s unbelievable—the strength people can summon in a life-or-death moment is amazing,” one user wrote, as cited by SCMP. Others expressed relief that the snakes in the well were not venomous, while some remarked on the psychological scars such an ordeal might leave. “Just imagining it makes me feel like I can’t breathe,” another commenter said. “She’s so lucky to have survived.”
The incident also drew attention to the dangers posed by abandoned wells in rural China, many of which remain unmarked and hidden by vegetation. Local authorities have since promised to step up efforts to identify and secure such hazards, hoping to prevent future tragedies. The rescue operation itself, which involved advanced technology like thermal imaging drones and the coordinated efforts of emergency services, was widely praised for its speed and effectiveness.
Qin’s story struck a chord not just because of its dramatic elements—the snakes, the darkness, the long hours spent alone—but also because it highlighted the power of human determination and the importance of community response. Her ordeal served as a stark reminder that, even in the modern age, nature and chance can conspire to place ordinary people in extraordinary peril.
While Qin’s physical wounds are healing, the emotional aftermath of her experience is likely to linger. Survival stories like hers often spark discussions about trauma and the need for psychological support following such events. As one online commenter put it, “The mental scars will last a lifetime, but she’s incredibly fortunate to have made it out alive.”
In a world where news of disaster and tragedy often dominates the headlines, Qin’s survival offered a rare moment of hope and inspiration. Her story, as reported by South China Morning Post and Sing Tao Daily, stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the life-saving power of timely intervention. As communities across China and beyond reflect on this incident, there is a renewed sense of vigilance toward everyday dangers—and a deeper appreciation for the will to survive, even when the odds seem insurmountable.