The bear reportedly fell inside the well while trying to catch a chicken. (Representational)
In a tragic turn of events, a large bear which had fallen into a well in a residential area here on Thursday died as it was under water for over an hour after it was tranquilised.
The rescue attempts took a tragic turn when the animal went under the water after being tranquilised and could not be reached due to the depth of the water despite the forest department officials and locals immediately entering the well, according to visuals on TV channels.
A forest official told PTI that a net had been placed under the bear before it was tranquilised, but it could not contain the animal which slipped into the water and then went under the water after becoming unconscious.
The calculations of the rescue personnel about the depth of water in the well went wrong as they could not reach the animal after it went under the water.
Subsequently, a large volume of water from the well was pumped out using two motors, and thereafter fire force personnel entered the well and brought out the unconscious bear -- which had been trapped inside the well for over 10 hours -- in a net.
The bear appeared lifeless when it was loaded on to a forest department vehicle and taken for medical examination. Later, forest department officials confirmed that the bear died due to drowning.
State Forest Minister A K Saseendran told reporters that it would be examined whether there was any failure on the part of the rescue personnel during the operation and if yes, appropriate action would be taken.
He said the forest officials had reached the site quickly after getting information about the trapped bear.
Thiruvananthapuram's DFO said while the bear's death was unfortunate, there was not any failure on the part of the rescue personnel. He told reporters here that the officials believed that the net was the safest option and they had assessed the water's depth by asking the house owner in whose property the well was located.
The DFO also said that public safety was given priority and that is why no attempt was made to bring out the bear without tranquilising it.
According to forest officials, the bear was trapped inside the well since around 12.30 AM. The animal reportedly fell inside it while trying to catch a chicken.
The visuals of the rescue attempts showed the first tranquiliser dart missing the bear, and it was successful only on the second try.
The veterinarian who darted the bear, at the time told reporters here that the animal was physically healthy but would be mentally disturbed as it was trapped inside the well for several hours and also because of the huge crowd that had gathered to watch the rescue attempt.
After being darted, the bear went under the water and did not come up as it was unconscious. The net placed under it by the forest officials could not hold on to the animal after it was tranquilised.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)