A woman in southeast China narrowly escaped death after falling into an old well and surviving nearly 54 hours surrounded by water snakes.
The incident occurred on September 13 when the 48-year-old, identified only as Qin, was walking through a forest in Quanzhou, Fujian province, and suddenly slipped into the well.
Her family noticed her missing the following day, September 14, but initial search efforts failed. On September 15, her son contacted the Jinjiang Ruitong Blue Sky Emergency Rescue Center, which deployed a 10-member team equipped with thermal drones to conduct a full-scale search.
Rescue leader Du Xiaohang said the team heard faint cries for help around 1:45 p.m. local time. Following the sound, they discovered a concealed well hidden by thick bushes. After clearing the vegetation, they found Qin inside, clinging to the slippery wall with her pale fingers.
Qin later revealed that her swimming skills had kept her alive, as she floated by gripping a stone embedded in the wall. The well’s structure—narrow at the top and wider below—made climbing out impossible. She managed to wedge three more stones as footholds, holding herself against the wall for more than two days.
“Many times I almost gave up. The bottom was pitch-dark, full of mosquitoes, and several water snakes swam nearby. I was bitten once by a snake, but thankfully it wasn’t venomous,” Qin recalled.
She was eventually rescued and rushed to Jinjiang City Hospital before being transferred to Quanzhou First Hospital for further treatment. Doctors confirmed she had two broken ribs, swollen lungs, and severe injuries to her hands from gripping the wall.
Qin is now in stable condition and expected to make a full recovery after several days of observation.
Her remarkable endurance quickly went viral on Chinese social media, with netizens praising her bravery and sheer will to survive in a life-or-death ordeal.
