WATCH: Elephants Stuck, Swept Away In Mahanadi River, Rescue Ops Underway

Huge crowd gathered near Mundali bridge this morning (September 24) after a herd of eight elephants were reportedly swept away by heavy water current while crossing Mahanadi river near Mundali.

While one tusker got stuck near Mundali barrage, two other pachyderms were swept away and hit the banks near Anantapur. Rest of the elephants in the herd managed to reach Nuasasan banks in Athagarh of Cuttack district.

Fire services and forest department personnel are engaged in rescue operation which is underway for over four hours now. As per reports, heavy machinery has been deployed by the rescue personnel to pull the trapped tusker to safety.

Senior forest officials from Chandaka have reached Mundali for ‘Operation Gaja’ for rescuing the tusker. A big crane will be used to pull the mammal out of water, said forest department officials.

Meanwhile, wildlife expert Jayant Mardaraj Harichandan said that the rescue operations should be expedited, or else it will risk the life of the tusker.

Video Editor: Surendra Pradhan

Producer: Diptyranjita Patra