A cow was rescued from a water-filled pit after it fell in 'while looking for a drink'.

Villagers found the three-year-old female cow struggling to keep its head above the murky water in a construction site in Chiang Mai province, Thailand on April 5.

Because of the site's remote location, rescue workers had difficulty bringing in large vehicles to assist in the operation. Instead, they jumped into the pit, tied some rope around the cow's body, and tried to pull it out using wood and iron boards as a makeshift ramp.

The boards buckled under the animal's weight, however, leaving it flailing in the waist-deep pool.

More than three hours later, the rescuers managed to manoeuvre an excavator into the construction site. They attached the rope to its bucket and finally hoisted the tired cow out of the water and onto dry land.

The cow's owner, 55-year-old Sawat Panya, said: 'I let my cows graze in front of the construction area. I think one of them was thirsty, went in search of water, and fell into the well.'

Sawat's cow has been recovering in its field and was unharmed following the ordeal.