A seven-hour operation was launched on November 3 to rescue a wild elephant that had fallen into a canal in Sri Lanka.

The officials of the Polonnaruwa Wildlife Office launched the operation in the afternoon after receiving the information from local villagers in the morning that the elephant had fallen into a ZD canal carrying water from Carson Lake in Welikanda to Omadiamadu.

It took seven hours for the officials to rescue the trapped elephant, believed to be around 35 years old, as the frightened animal kept moving along the canal after seeing the crowd gathered nearby.

Eventually wildlife officials set up a rope ladder made of car tires for the elephant to come out of the canal. After several attempts, the elephant was finally rescued and moved into the nearby forest area.

A seven-hour operation was launched on 3rd November to rescue a wild elephant that had fallen into a ZD canal which carries water from Carson Lake in Welikanda to Omadiamadu in Srilanka.

The officials of the Polonnaruwa Wildlife Office launched the operation in the afternoon after receiving the information from the villagers in the morning. It took seven hours for the officials to rescue the trapped elephant, as the frightened elephant keep moving in the canal seeing the crowd gathered near the canal.

The elephant is around aged 35 years old. Wildlife officials set up an ingenious rope ladder for the elephant to come out of the canal. After several attempts, the elephant was finally rescued and moved into the nearby forest area.