A young elephant became trapped alone overnight (November 1) in a ground well in eastern India and was released after an extensive rescue effort.

The eight-year-old elephant had spent the night in the 35-feet deep well in Dhenkanal district of Odisha, India, after falling into it accidentally.

People of the Pohala village woke up on the night of November 1 to the distressed trumpeting of the elephant.

A 10-member elephant herd was passing through in the vicinity when the young male had fallen into an agricultural well in the darkness. As the young male cried aloud, the herd stood at a distance helplessly.

The villagers informed forest department officials in the morning, who promptly arrived and started a rescue operation.

They brought in a digger which dug a path out of the well. Though initially apprehensive, the elephant climbed out of the well and ran to join its waiting herd.

An eager crowd of local villagers watched the rescue operation that lasted nearly eight hours.

A local resident Girija Nanda said: “The elephant had struggled all night and looked like it was going to give up. It was rescued on time.”