83-yr-old falls into well during cat rescue, found after feline alerts kin

Chennai

The man, who rescued the cat, slipped and fell into the same ring well. Rescue personnel from the Fire and Rescue services promptly fished him out without a scratch.

The man, P N Tyre of Ammai Ammal street in Ayyavu Colony, is a retired professor of Loyola College and an animal lover. While he rears a cat, he also feeds strays in his street. The incident happened on Wednesday evening when he was searching his missing cat. While his son was out for work, only his daughter and daughter-in-law were at home.

The octogenarian found the cat struggling inside the well, which has been left unused over the years, and let a ladder tied to a rope inside the well. As the cat caught hold of the ladder, he safely rescued the cat, but lost balance in the joy and fell into the same well along with the ladder.

Tyre’s daughter and daughter-in-law who came searching for him peeked into the well as the cat was circling the area, making noises and were shocked to find him inside the well. Since the area was one of the containment zones, they could not seek help from the neighbours and immediately alerted the fire control room.

Kilpauk Fire Officer P Chidambaram and team rushed to the spot and spoke to the senior citizen to check if he responded well. After ensuring that he is safe, fire personnel swiftly entered the well, tied and pulled him out in a safe manner.