Thrissur: A cow that had fallen into a depth of 25 feet got a new lease of life after suffering for more than eight hours. The fire force brought the cow up by digging a parallel ditch, after multiple attempts to save the cow failed. The cow fell into an unused ditch at the mission quarters in CSI Bathel monastery while grazing. Fire force personnel rushed to spot and began the rescue mission at 8 am after the inhabitants of the monastery alerted them. Although they tried to secure the cow using a hose belt to pull it up, it failed as the ditch was too narrow. 

The ditch was around three metres long and one and half metres wide. Fire force personnel could not enter the ditch either as it was too deep. By noon, an earth mover was brought to dig another ditch, parallel to the one in which the cow was trapped. The cow could raise itself up only after the mud was removed up to 20 feet. Then, fire and rescue officers R Rakesh, M Krishnaprasad and K Prakashan entered the ditch. 

The cow was secured using hose belt and then lifted with the help of the earth mover. Meanwhile, the cow’s horn had been damaged in the fall. Veterinary doctors who checked the cow confirmed that it didn’t have any health issues despite standing in the ditch for over eight hours. 

The ditch was dug, years ago, for waste disposal when a hostel had functioned here. The decayed slab was covered in moss, sand and stones, concealing the dangerous ditch from plain sight. Thrissur station officer B Vysakh, assistant officer T Anilkumar, grade officer TG Shajan, senior officer PK Ranjith, senior officer driver KL Edward and officers PK Pratheesh, KS Subair, PM Mahesh and home guard Aneesh Albin took part in the rescue mission.