Elephant trapped down well rescued with crane after 16-hour struggle

More than 50 officials battled to save the stricken elephant which was hauled out using a wench

An elephant that fell down a well in India was hauled to safety using a crane after a 16-hour rescue mission. 

The young animal toppled 50ft after reportedly being chased by a pack of dogs  in the village of Panchapali in southern India's Tamil Nadu state.

Wildlife veterinarians battled for 16 hours to free the elephant on Thursday morning.

They were lowered into the deep well to administer tranquilising darts to the stricken animal.

It was then tied to a heavy-duty crane on the ground using rope-like belts and lifted to the surface. The animal had been roaming around in the region with two other elephants for the past few days. 

District forest officers oversaw the rescue operation with over 50 other officials from the forest department, fire brigade and local police.

Rajkumar, a forest officer, said the elephant fell into the well that was covered with bushes and did not have a fence or wall around it. 

He said: "It was a deep and narrow well. 

"We were informed by locals early on Thursday and were able to retrieve the elephant only late in the night.”

Forest officials first started by clearing the bushes around the well and then tried to pump water out. 

But the elephant attacked the pipes pumping out the water, according to Rajkumar. 

"Eventually, we sedated the animal with the help of doctors and used a crane to lift it out of the well,” he added.

"It was found to be healthy and active when we monitored it for three hours after the rescue.” 

Two excavators, trucks and cranes were used in order to pull out the animal safely from inside the well. During its time stranded inside, coconut tree leaves were dropped down to feed it. 

The elephant has now been released into the Hosur forest.