Jumbo task: Elephant hoisted from deep well in India

Forest officers, fire fighters use a crane to rescue an elephant after it fell in a well

Last updated: November 23, 2020 | 15:19

AFP and Compiled by Nathaniel Lacsina, Senior Web Editor

2 MIN READ

1/11

Dharmapuri, India: A wild elephant that fell into a well in southern India was lifted out with a crane following a 16-hour rescue mission involving dozens of rangers and firefighters.

2/11

The elephant fell more than 20 metres after it wandered into a village in Tamil Nadu state last week while looking for food.

3/11

"Villagers heard sounds and saw the animal had fallen into the well," said local forest ranger Rajkumar.

4/11

He said they believed it might have been trying to escape from a pack of dogs.

5/11

Frightened at first, villagers called authorities when they realised it could die unless rescued.

6/11

Some 50 rangers and firefighters rushed to the village, where they initially tried to pump water out of the well - but the scared creature kept pushing away the equipment they were using.

7/11

The rescuers then tried shooting the 2.4-metre elephant with tranquilliser darts. "Out of the three times we tried, we succeeded twice," Rajkumar said.

8/11

As night fell, watched on by a large crowd of villagers, rescuers climbed down into the well and attached straps to the sedated animal's feet. They then used a crane to hoist the elephant out upside down.

9/11

It was monitored by rangers for half an hour before being ushered back into the forest.

10/11

India is home to nearly 30,000 elephants, around 60 percent of the wild Asian elephant population.

11/11

A rescued female elephant calf after it fell in an open well at Panchapalli village, in Dharmapuri district.

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox