An elephant has been rescued following a 14-hour operation after it fell down a well in India.
Video footage shows rescue staff and villagers in southern India hoisting the elephant out from the bottom of a 55ft-deep well on November 20.
A team of 50 lifted it out using a crane and belts and placed it safely on the ground to cheers from the 100-strong crowd watching.
A team of 50 lifted it out and placed it safely on the ground to cheers from the 100-strong crowd watching
Video footage shows rescue staff and villagers in southern India hoisting the elephant out from the bottom of a 55ft-deep well on November 20
A farmer in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu heard the cries of the animal in the well on November 19 and alerted local authorities.
Despite the depth of the well, the water inside was shallow and was pumped out to make it easier to access the 25-year-old male elephant.
The rescue team checked the elephant was healthy before he was then sedated by a vet and lifted out.
Concerned villagers dropped banana leaves down the well for the elephant to eat as the rescue attempt got underway, according to local media reports.
Two excavators, trucks and a crane were used in the operation, which brought the elephant out, unharmed a little after midnight.
Despite the depth of the well, the water inside was shallow and was pumped out to make it easier to access the 25-year-old male elephant, who was unharmed
The elephant was unharmed and was released in the nearby Hosur forest area.
The young male elephant had fallen into the well in a village bordering a forest because bushes hid it, Rajkumar, the district forest officer told the Insider.
‘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.’