Baripada/Kuliana: Two elephants that had fallen into an abandoned dug-well were rescued in an operation spanning over eight long hours at Dehurisahi, Katharuma village under Kuliana block in Mayurbhanj district, late Wednesday night. The animals after their rescue were reunited with their herd. The incident occurred when a herd of 35 elephants strayed into farmlands to eat paddy crops. The village is close to the Similipal wildlife sanctuary under the Baripada forest range. Six elephants of the herd fell into an abandoned dug well. While four of the animals managed to escape, a tusker and a calf failed to climb out of the muddy well for long hours. Locals spotted the pachyderms in the water-filled pit this morning and informed the forest officials.
On being informed, Chandua fire personnel and Baripada forest ranger Lakshmidhar Behera rushed to the spot and sought the help of villagers in rescuing the two elephants. The fire and forest personnel as well as the villagers put up timbers and tree branches on the wall of the dug-well following which the animals could climb on it and come out of the well.
