An elephant that fell into a ditch was rescued by forest officials using Archimedes' Principle in eastern India's West Bengal.

The unusual rescue operation took place in Mushina village, Salbani block, West Medinipur district on February 21.

Video showed rescuers filling the ditch with water and then using several ropes to pull out the pachyderm, which had fallen in and was unable to get out.

The water helped lift the otherwise heavy elephant closer to the edge of the ditch.

According to District Forest Officer (DFO) Sandeep Berwal, as soon as forest officials were notified about the animal, they came to the spot and started the rescue.

The operation began at 1am local time and was completed around 4am.

Officials identified the pachyderm as a subadult. Fortunately, it was healthy and was eventually guided back to the forest.

The footage is distributed with permission of Sandeep Berwal, District Forest Officer (DFO), Medinipur.

An elephant that fell into a ditch was rescued by forest officials using Archimedes' Principle in eastern India's West Bengal.

The rescue operation took place in Mushina village Salbani block in West Medinipur district of the state on February 21.

Visual showed rescuers filling the ditch with water and then using several ropes to pull out the pachyderm.

According to reports, the elephant had fallen inside the ditch and was unable to get out.

According to District Forest Officer (DFO) Sandeep Berwal, as soon as forest officials were notified about the pachyderm, they reached the spot and started the rescue. The operation began at 1 am and was completed around 4 am.

Officials identified the pachyderm as a subadult. Fortunately, it was healthy and was eventually guided back to the forest.