In South Africa, a dog was stuck in a stormwater drain for two days after being struck by a car. The trapped animal spawned emergency response coordination from roadworkers, firefighters, a local councilor and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
What happened?
According to The Witness, after the dog was stuck and injured, it crawled 49 feet inside a concrete stormwater pipe.
The outlet reported that local worker Ntokozo Ndimande was one of the first people to reach the dog after the crash.
"I pulled the dog to the side of the road to prevent it from sustaining further injuries. The dog had a rope around its neck, which is how I was able to pull it to safety, but it then ran into the drain," Ndimande told The Witness.
After learning the dog was inside the drain, Ndimande worked to contact Ashburton Ward councilor Edith Elliott, and the rescue effort was launched with the Pietermaritzburg Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the uMgungundlovu District Fire Department.
The team spent hours at the scene before night conditions and fast-moving traffic forced them to stop, according to The Witness. When rescuers returned on Friday morning, they put in another two hours clearing debris and trying to get to the dog.
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"Every effort was made on Thursday to remove the dog, but it was too far inside, and there was a lot of debris in the drain. Food and water was provided for the dog, but he didn't touch it," Elliott told The Witness.
According to the outlet, the contents of the pipe made it difficult for the rescuers to reach the animal.
"The dog was stuck quite far inside the drain, almost 15 metres in. We all assisted in removing debris at the entrance so that the SPCA team and firefighters could gain access to the pipe and pull the dog to safety," a witness told the outlet.
Eventually, after two days of rescue efforts, the team was able to bring the dog to safety. The outlet explained that a member of the SPCA team crawled into the confined pipe with a fire hose wrapped around them. Once fully inside the pipe, the team member was able to pull the dog out.
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