Fire service helps elephant up

The fire brigade of Karlsruhe was thrown out Thursday to get elephant cow Lina up in the local zoo.

The personnel could not do anything with the available resources such as pneumatic cushions and hoists, because the unhappy elephant was still stuck between grille. Alerted firefighters brought a solution. After almost five hours, Lina was back on four legs with the trunk in the air.

'Because we did not know exactly how long she had been in that awkward position, it was quite exciting. Fortunately, it has worked out well, 'said director Matthias Reinschmidt. Four Asian elephants live in his zoo, including Rani (62). This elderly lady had to be helped by her caretakers several times.