Bear trapped in well for over 10 hours in Kerala brought out unconscious

Thiruvananthapuram: A giant bear which fell into a well in a residential area here on Thursday was brought out in an unconscious state, as it was under the water for over an hour subsequent to being tranquilised, raising doubts whether it was alive.

The rescue attempts had taken an unexpected turn when the animal went under the water, after being tranquilised, and could not be reached by the Forest officials and locals -- who immediately entered the well -- due to the depths of the water in it, according to visuals on TV channels.

Subsequently, a large amount of water from the well was pumped out using two motors and thereafter, fire force personnel entered the well and brought out the unconscious bear -- which had been trapped inside the well for over 10 hours -- in a net.

The bear was unconscious while it was loaded onto a Forest department vehicle and taken for medical examination.

According to officials, the bear was trapped inside the well since around 12.30 AM. The animal reportedly fell inside it while trying to catch a chicken.

The visuals of the rescue attempts showed the first tranquiliser dart missing the bear and it was successful only on the second try.

The veterinarian who darted the bear told reporters here the animal was physically healthy, but it would mentally disturbed as it was trapped inside the well for several hours and also because of the huge crowd that had gathered to see the rescue attempt.

However, after being darted, the bear went under the water and did not come up.

The net placed under it by the forest officials could not hold onto the animal after it was tranquilised.