Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu): In Palacode, Dharmapuri, a female elephant fell down into a well on Thursday. After a struggle for 14 hours, the elephant was rescued. The forest department said that the elephant fell into a farm well around 4.30 AM on Thursday. The well is owned by Venkatachalam of Ellikundanoor. The farmers got to know about the elephant when they heard the animal cry. The water level of the well was low.
To pull out the elephant from the well, two JCB machines, cranes and trucks were used. The elephant was also fed inside the well as the officials dropped coconut tree leaves. The passage of the well was narrow, which was hindering the officials to pull out the elephant. The officials then decided to tranquilise the elephant. Three darts were administered by a veterinarian, two of which hit the wild elephant. The personnel lifted the tranquilised elephant out with the help of the crane.
The rescue operation was supervised by the district forest officers of Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri. S. Prabhu from Krishnagiri along with Rajkumar from Dharmapuri led around 50 officials including from forest department, the fire and rescue services and the police.
The forest officials said that the elephant was about 25-years of age. The elephant along with two other elephants was seen roaming around the area for the last few days. The forest department said that they will release the elephant into the Hosur forest area. They said that the elephant came to Dharmapuri from Hosur forest areas.