Five people were reported dead after they tried to save a cat from an abandoned well in Mahrasthra's Ahmednagar, said the police, reported news agency ANI. The incident took place at Wadki village in Nevasa Tehsil on Tuesday evening, said an official. The cat fell into the pit, which was being used as a biogas pit, and one person climbed down to rescue the feline but got stuck inside the sludge inside, the official said, according to PTI.
"To rescue him, five others climbed down one after another and also got stuck inside," said Dhananjay Jadhav, police inspector at Nevasa police station.
A rescue team with suction pumps reached the spot, and one person was rescued, Jadhav added.
"A rescue team recovered the dead bodies of five of the six people who jumped one after another into an abandoned well having animal waste stored while trying to rescue a cat," said the police official, adding: "One person who entered the well with a rope tied to his waist survived and was later rescued by the police. He is under treatment in the hospital nearby. A probe is underway."
The trapped victim, who was pulled out by the rescue team has been admitted to a government hospital. Vijay Manik Kale, 35, who was rescued by the rescue team was shifted to a government hospital and is now stable, Jadhav said, as per a Times of India report.
The officials said that earth removers were shifted to the site to remove the slurry and other waste material from the abandoned well and five ambulances were kept ready at the spot, reported TOI.