After accidentally dropping a gold necklace weighing more than one tael into a village well, a Hanoi couple used powerful pumps to drain the entire well in a determined effort to recover it.

The story of a couple from Thuong Thuy Hamlet in Hoai Duc, Hanoi, draining a village well to search for a lost gold necklace has attracted widespread attention on social media in recent days.

Speaking with VietNamNet, Nguyen Hoa, a resident of Thuong Thuy Hamlet, said that on the afternoon of June 2, her husband, Phan Hiep, took their 10-year-old son swimming at the village well. While helping the boy practice swimming, the gold necklace around his neck slipped off and fell into the water.

The village well covers an area of about 400 square meters and reaches a depth of roughly two meters at its deepest point.

The necklace, weighing more than one tael of gold, carried not only significant monetary value but also deep sentimental meaning for the couple.

"It was a birthday gift I gave my husband 10 years ago. At that time, gold was only around VND3.6 million per chi," Hoa recalled. "Over the past decade, my husband has worn that necklace every day. He has never taken it off and never considered selling or exchanging it."

Because of its special significance, the couple was determined to recover the necklace. They mobilized four high-capacity water pumps and continuously drained the well for an entire day and night to make the search possible.

The following afternoon, once the well had been emptied, the search began. Initially, only Hoa and her husband climbed down to look for the necklace, but relatives and neighbors soon joined the effort.

About 30 minutes later, Hiep himself found the necklace near the exact spot where it had fallen.

"My husband remembered precisely where he lost it, so everyone focused their search around that area. The necklace was buried among the mud and sand at the bottom of the well," Hoa said.

The successful recovery brought immense relief and joy to the family.

Hoa said she was grateful to local authorities for allowing the well to be drained and deeply appreciated the support from relatives and neighbors who helped with the search.

Speaking to VietNamNet, Nguyen Van Thanh, head of Thuong Thuy Hamlet in Hoai Duc, confirmed the incident.

"The story has attracted a great deal of attention. The couple dropped the necklace into the village well, but the well was too deep to retrieve it directly, so they had to drain it completely. Fortunately, they were able to find the necklace," Thanh said.

Thanh Minh