KOCHI: It could probably be the worst day in the life of tusker Vishnu Narayanan. The 23-year-old tusker which got trapped in a marshy land after being hit by a car on Friday night.
The Fire and Rescue Service personnel and the local people who have been working overnight got little success in getting the tusker out of the marshy land.
Vishnu Narayanan, owned by the Polakkulam Group, was being taken to Mattanchery for a temple festival when the accident occurred around 00.30 am on Saturday.
The tusker was hit by a car near the Kathrikkadav bridge and the mahout fell on the road due to the impact of accident.
The tusker suffered serious injuries.
Running in pain due to the injuries it suffered, the tusker created a panic situation in the city. The tusker ran for around 7 km and fell in the marshy land near the KSINC Boat Yard at Thevara around 1 pm. Though the Fire and Rescue Service personnel along with the locals tried to pull the animal out of the marshy land, they got little success. The rescue work continued throughout the day on Saturday.
Two units of the Fire and Rescue Service from Ernakulam and Gandhinagar came for the rescue work. The police have been camping in the area to control the crowd. Veterinarian Gireesh has been camping at the area.
``The tusker is very weak. The possible injuries in the accident and its entrapping in the marshy land have made the tusker terribly weak,’’ he said. The medicos have been administering glucose on the tusker to keep it alive and warm.
Though the district authorities requested help from the Navy for the rescue work, nothing has materialised so far.
Minister issues orders to rescue trapped elephant
Forest Minister Binoy Viswam on Saturday issued orders to the Chief Wildlife Warden to take urgent steps to rescue the elephant, which is trapped in a swamp at Venduruthi, Kochi. He also directed the Ernakulam District Collector to seek the assistance of the Indian Navy, Revenue, Police, Fire Force and the Forest Department to save the elephant.