30 March 2017 10:20 am
Eleven elephants have been saved from drowning after they were rescued from a flooded bomb crater after being stuck for four days.
Environment workers said the elephants were discovered almost fully submerged on a wildlife reserve in Cambodia on Friday.
Word was then passed to wildlife agency WCS whose members arrived the following day to dig a channel up the side of the crater so the animals could climb out.
The head of Cambodia's environmental officer in eastern Mondulkiri province, said the animals had been trapped for three days before they were found.
They said the pack likely wandered into the 10ft deep hole in order to drink, but were then unable to get out again.
Rescue workers had to dig out the side of the pit, which was created by a blast during the country's bloody civil war, by hand.
Water was also pumped into the pit to loosen the sludge and allow the huge animals to climb out safely.
Losing 11 elephants, including three calves, would have been a devastating blow to Cambodia's wildlife.
There are only thought to be a few hundred endangered Asian elephants left inside the country as populations fall due to habitat loss. (Daily Mail)