Rescuers in Sri Lanka used a digger today (December 27) to save an elephant that fell into a well.

Footage captured in Halmillawewa in North Western Province showed the stricken creature struggling to climb out of the muddy water source.

Dozens of locals gathered to watch as a team from the forest department arrived with the digger and flattened the sides of the well.

The exhausted elephant then managed to haul itself to safety and returned moments later to the nearby forest.

In a stroke of luck, the jumbo got a new lease on life after encountering a life-threatening situation in Sri Lanka's North Western Province on December 27. The incident took place in Halmillawewa.

Visuals feature the elephant struggling to get out of the small barrier-less open well in broad daylight while the mammal slips each time trying to get out of the muddy pit. After a while, the rescuers dig out a section of the land adjacent to the well to provide the jumbo a safe passage while it appears out and walks on the slippery muddy slope. Following this, the elephant manages to come out and walks towards the forest cover while the crowd beholds the occurrence.

The Galkiriyagama forest officials were alerted about the stranded animal, following which they reached the spot to rescue it. Nevertheless, the jumbo was saved and released into its natural habitat, while the well got destroyed following the incident.