A little girl was just rescued in a deep water well that is only 40 centimetres (15 inches) wide in China.

Tong Tong, 2, fell onto a water pump in a well that is about 23 feet underground. Firefighters rushed to the scene knowing that they had to act fast, as she could have run out of oxygen at any moment.

Once they got to the well, the rescuers chose the skinniest firefighter in the group and dangled him headfirst down the shaft to save the little girl.

Tong Tong fell into the well last Saturday afternoon in the Daqiao Township of Weishi County in Kaifeng, Henan Province. She had been walking with her grandparents to water their crops when she fell into it. A local teacher named Ms. Liu called the police after she came upon Tong Tong’s grandparents crying.

“My instinct told me someone could have fallen into the well. The elderly couple were probably too anxious and they forgot to call the police,” the teacher said.

Tong Tong was holding tightly to the water pump when rescuers arrived, and they started pumping oxygen to her as the firefighter was lowered down to her. After about 20 minutes, the brave firefighter was able to pick up Tong Tong, and they were both lifted out of the well.

Though Tong Tong was shaking and covered in mud when she got out of the well, paramedics found that she had no injuries. The local fire department urged parents and grandparents to be more vigilant in watching their children, as there are many abandoned and hidden wells like this one in the area.