A cow was rescued from a well at a Hindu temple in India.

Footage captures the dramatic operation to save the animal, showing a local man descending into the well to tie a rope around its body. A group of men then worked together to pull it to safety near the old Durga temple in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh, on September 27.

The Atal Kamdhenu Gau Sewa Sansthan team assisted in the recovery, which took around two hours.

In India, devout locals follow Hindu customs, with cows regarded as sacred animals that cannot be eaten or slaughtered once they have stopped producing milk. The majority of states ban the sale or slaughter of cows.

Instead of dealing with the economic burden of keeping their spent cattle, many farmers let the beasts roam the streets - leading to chaos when the animals become agitated and turn their fury on humans.