Villagers in rural India were horrified to find an elephant trapped 35ft down their well. Realizing the animal was tiring fast and at serious risk of drowning, locals banded together to launch a daring rescue.

Farmer V. Gurusamy was the first to discover the trapped animal after he heard strange noises emanating from the well on Monday morning in the town of Puliyangudi, southern India. Dramatic footage of the brave rescue has been shared online.

India: Elephant hauled out of 35-foot-deep well after 4-hr struggle pic.twitter.com/BKJav5aCPj — CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) January 23, 2019

“The pachyderm did not suffer injuries as the well had a diameter of 15 feet and also had water for a depth of 15 feet,” Sankarankovil forest ranger D. Ayub Khan told the Times of India.

Dozens of forest department and fire & rescue personnel, supported by two local vets, were deployed to dig the poor elephant out of the well and get it back on the road.

The rescuers initially attempted to save the huge animal by hoisting it up with soft ropes but, given the fact that it weighs several hundred kilos, their efforts were in vain.

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The animal quickly became exhausted from swimming around continuously for so long in the 15ft waters, so metal pipes were dropped into the well at an angle to provide the elephant with something to rest against.

Finally, an earthmover was brought in to dig out the well and create an artificial ramp up which the tired creature was briefly dragged before it scarpered off into the forest.

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