Indian forest officials use burning torches to ward off trapped bear during dramatic rescue

A bear fell into a dried-up water tank at a tea estate in southern India on August 29 prompting a desperate rescue.

Acting quickly, a team of forest officials arrived at the estate near Doddabetta at Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, and rescued it by placing a ladder into the tank.

A video shot on a mobile camera by a forest staffer sitting in a tree, shows his colleagues standing near the water tank holding burning torches as one of them lowers a ladder.

As the bear climbs up the ladder and escapes, they all run to safety.

An officer explained: “The bear was agitated and there was no time to call for backup.

There was a risk of the bear attacking us after escaping from the tank.

So we held burning torches to keep it at bay.” “Luckily, the rescue went off well without any incident,” he added.