Firefighters rescue 20ft crocodile from drain in 10-hour operation

Firefighters rescue 20ft crocodile from drain in 10-hour operation

Mangalore Today News Network

June 02, 2017: Incredible footage has emerged of firefighters rescuing a 20ft-long crocodile from a drain during a 10-hour operation.

 

But the rescue efforts were in vain as the reptile died hours later.

The one-tonne reptile was heard thrashing around after getting stuck in the tidal dam in Kapar, Malaysia, on Saturday night.

Emergency services arrived at 11.41pm and spent 10 hours battling to free the beast while the high tide obscured it.

They eventually winched it from the water at 10am on Sunday morning but it died several hours later.

Fire and Rescue Department chief Zaidi Ahtan said it was the largest reptile they had ever rescued.

He said: "We had to use the chain lock and other special tools to winch the reptile up.

"We also covered its eyes throughout the process so that it would not get aggressive.

"Fourteen officers were involved in the rescue which was made difficult by the narrow gap and how deep it was."

The animal was pulled out of the tidal sluice and laid on the ground withers jaws and limbs tied up.

Rescue workers doused it with water from a hosepipe and posed for pictures but it died two hours later.

Vets who worked on the rescue said the croc will now have a post mortem examination to find the "cause and time of death, its species, gender, age and others."