Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 20 (IANS): Efforts are underway in the suburban town of Vellanadu in the state capital district to rescue a bear which fell in a well.

According to the Forest officials, the incident occurred at the house of one Aravind at Vellanadu around Wednesday-Thursday midnight.

Hearing the sound coming from a well, Aravind rushed out of the house and was startled to see the bear.

The bear is understood to have come searching for hens, But, what has raised eyebrows is how the bear reached Vellanadu, which is located about 17 kms from the forest area. Locals say that even wild pigs are rarely spotted in the area.

The bear was spotted hanging on the ring of the well and had managed to stay afloat. But, things went awry during the rescue operation after a tranquilizer shot was fired by the local veterinarian.

Five minutes after the shot was fired, the bear sank to the bottom of the well.

Soon three people went into the well, but they could not lift the animal and had to come out.

The officials have now asked the water to be pumped out from the well and all are eagerly waiting to see the health condition of the bear.