Elephant Pulled To Safety By Crane After Falling Down Well In India

An elephant had to be pulled to safety by a crane after it fell down a well in India.

Forest officials in the southern Tamil Nadu state said they had to work for more than 12 hours to rescue the animal, Reuters reports.

The elephant had plummeted 50ft after it was chased by a dog in the village of Panchapali, having strayed into the area on 19 November.

Rajkumar, the district forest officer, told the news agency that the well it fell into was covered with bushes and did not have a fence or wall around it.

"It was a deep and narrow well," Rajkumar said.

"We were informed by locals early on Thursday and were able to retrieve the elephant only late in the night."

SWNS

Rajkumar, from Panchapali, worked alongside district forest officer S Prabhu, from Krishnagiri, to oversee the rescue operation - which also involved 50 other officials from the Forest Department, Fire Department and local police.

The animal is believed to have been roaming in the area with two other elephants for a few days before it fell.

Thankfully, a team of people were eventually able to help the elephant to safety.

SWNS

Forest officials began by clearing the bushes around the well, before trying to pump water out.

However, Rajkumar said the elephant attacked the pipes used to remove the water, meaning it had to be sedated before they could continue.

A team of wildlife veterinarians led by Dr Prakash were lowered into the well to administer tranquilising darts to the stricken elephant - which had coconut tree leaves dropped down to feed it while it was stuck.

SWNS

Two excavators, trucks and cranes were then used to pull it out from inside the hole, with plans for the beast to be released into the Hosur forest area.

"Eventually, we sedated the animal with the help of doctors and used a crane to lift it out of the well," Rajkumar said.

"It was found to be healthy and active when we monitored it for three hours after the rescue."

According to Reuters, the destruction of forests, rapid urbanisation and rising village populations have led to animals venturing close to human settlements in India.

Two other elephants have fallen into such wells in the year over the past year.

Topics: News, Elephant, Animals, India

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

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