A kitten which spent five days trapped underground after falling 44-foot down an uncapped well was finally rescued by a team … that flew 2,100 miles to save it.
Property owner Kimberly Cockrell heard the distressed calls of trapped kitten Jessie, from the bottom of the well.
Kimberly, of Hopkins, South Carolina, USA, attempted to free the five-week-old stray by encouraging him to climb up sticks she had thrown down the well.
She contacted her local animal organizations for help before reaching out to California-based animal rescue group Hope for Paws – 2,100 miles away.
Rescue specialists Eldad Hagar and Loreta Frankoye hoped on a plane and flew 2,100 miles from Los Angeles to South Carolina to to save little Jessie.
The pair used specialist equipment, including a gentle snare, and managed to pull the 9oz kitten to the surface in an hour-long rescue on May 7.
The LA couple captured the dramatic rescue on camera, which their followers have dubbed “the best rescue ever”.
Eldad said: “I got a call in the middle of the night. A lady called Kimberly Cockrell called from South Carolina and told us that she had discovered that a kitten had fallen down a well 44ft deep.
“It had been trapped down there for four days. She had tried to get him out by throwing sticks down there hoping he would climb but he was too little.
“She was throwing him down food but we knew the kitten didn’t have long. She was actually on Facebook on the fourth night and she came across one of our rescues.
“She decided to get in touch with us. We hopped on a red eye flight to North Carolina and just as we landed we received a video.
“The kitten’s meows had become super weak so we knew time was of the essence. We knew he was running out of time.
“It was a very stressful rescue. We couldn’t see the kitten because it was so dark. We began working on removing the branches, pulling the large ones up out of the way.
“We used a gentle snare and managed to pull him up. When he came up he was as cold as ice. He was suffering from hypothermia.”
The animal-saving couple immediately rushed the ice-cold kitten into their car and warmed him up against the heater as they rushed him to a veterinary hospital.
There, Jessie was rehydrated and fed, and within an hour began to perk up.
Eldad and Loreta said the rescue was one of the scariest they’ve ever been involved in and watching the footage back was emotional.
Loreta said: “We spent two days editing the footage and it was really emotional. Our adrenaline was pumping through us that day so it was all a blur.
“We’re just happy that Jessie is okay and thriving. It’s very satisfying. People have been saying the video is our best one yet.”
Lucky Jessie was later adopted by a local woman in South Carolina.
