Bhubaneswar, March 5 -- An elephant that had fallen into a deep well in Banajodi village under Sadar Block in Odisha's Keonjhar was successfully rescued after a six-hour-long operation by the Forest Department early Thursday morning.

The animal had reportedly strayed into the area in search of food when it accidentally fell into the well. Forest personnel, with the assistance of a JCB machine and Fire Services teams, carried out the challenging rescue. As the well was deep, a 10-foot trench was first dug to create an access path before water was pumped into the well to facilitate the operation.

Officials said the well had to be partially broken open using a JCB machine to ensure the safe extraction of the elephant. The coordinated effor...