Jumbo trapped in well rescued after 4-hr ops

ANGUL:  A female elephant trapped inside an abandoned well for eight hours in Balijerenge village under Purunagarh section of Angul range was rescued by forest personnel after a four-hour-long operation on Thursday morning.

The elephant fell into the well after being separated from the herd. Sources said the herd entered Balijerenge on Wednesday night but the female jumbo wandered away and got trapped in the abandoned well of a villager. Though small, the well had some water in it.

In the morning, villagers spotted the trapped elephant and tried to help it come out but to no avail. They then informed forest officials who rushed to the village along with fire personnel. A JCB machine was used to dig a trench using which the jumbo came out of the well and ran to the nearby forest. 

Sources said the animal was unhurt. The rescue operation lasted around four hours. Divisional forest officer Prasanna Behera said, “We received information about the trapped elephant in the morning. A team immediately went to the spot and rescued the animal. The animal safely walked out of the well and went to the forest.”