Forest officials in Odisha, east India, managed to rescue an elephant trapped in a muddy ditch by using an excavator.

Filmed on March 21 in Khamar, the footage shows officials using an excavator to dig a pathway for the elephant.

The huge mammal eventually climbs out of the ditch before running off into the forest.

The rescue operation lasted for around two hours.

Forest officials rescued a female elephant from a mud puddle in eastern India's Odisha on March 21. The incident took place in the Khamar region of the Angul district.

Visuals feature an excavator digging out the excess earth to create a pathway for the elephant. The machine digs out the dirt while the jumbo swims in the mud pool. Once done, the elephant comes out of the puddle and runs towards the forest cover. Meanwhile, the onlookers gather around as the jumbo disappears into the woods.

A team of forest officials, including Range Forest Officer Chandrasekhar Gadnaik, Forester, Pradeep Sathpathy, and Divisional Forest Officer Kshama Sarangi, initiated the rescue operation around 9 in the morning and successfully concluded it in two hours.