BHUBANESWAR: A large group of wild boars fell into an open well in Keonjhar district, prompting forest officials to launch an unexpected rescue operation on Monday.

The incident took place near a crop field of a forest fringe village in Balabhadrapur near Naranpur section of Keonjhar area, an official from the Keonjhar territorial division said.

A group of 27 wild boars ventured into an agricultural land near Balabhadrapur forest in search of food last night and fell into the discovered well, possibly due to a sudden movement that caused the animals to scatter, they said the officials.

On the announcement, the forestry team immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the boars with the help of an excavator. A ramp was created, allowing the boars to exit safely.

“A boar may have fallen into the well first, prompting the rest of the members to dive in to rescue the stranded boar,” said ACF Keonjhar Ashok Kumar Das.

He said one boarlet died in the incident while the remaining 26 members of the herd were safely rescued and released back into the forest.

Das said the well was dug on a private agricultural land and the concerned farmer was asked to cover it to prevent recurrence of such incidents.