Rourkela: The officials of Odisha’s Rourkela Forest Division Wednesday rescued an elephant which fell into a deep well dug in the middle of the field in Sundergarh district, police said.
The rescue operation was carried out by the forest officials under Hatibari Range, said DFO Rourkela Forest Division, Jasobanta Sethi.
Our staff got the information on Tuesday night regarding the elephant falling into a deep well, but it was not possible to carry out any rescue operation as it was dark. In the morning, earth movers were called, and a slope was dug so that the elephant could walk through it, the DFO said.
According to information, locals heard the distress call of an elephant which had fallen into the well, nearly 15-16 feet deep, early in the morning.
The place where the elephant fell is closer to the jumbo corridor. The well doesn’t have any wall and has just been dug into the ground.
Two earth-moving machines were pressed into service to facilitate the safe extraction of the animal. It took several hours to lift the elephant from the well through the slope, the DFO said.
Fortunately, everything happened without any injuries to the elephant, said the DFO.
After its rescue, the forest officials kept the elephant under watch and later released the animal in the nearby deep jungle.
The DFO said the officials are sensitising the people not to let such open wells or trenches on the elephant movement routes so that such incidents do not occur.