Local firefighters rescued a yellow cattle from a septic tank in Anlong county, Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Guizhou Province. Photo: the official WeChat account of "Public Focus," operated by Guizhou Radio and Television Station.

A villager ran more than 50 meters after a departing fire truck in tears to thank local firefighters after they managed to pull a 400-kilogram yellow cattle, which is a major source of income for the family, out of a septic tank, according to Public Focus, an official WeChat account operated by Guizhou Radio and Television Station.

According to the report, after the cattle accidentally fell into the tank, the villager made several unsuccessful attempts to pull the cattle out. The villager, at his wits' end, called for help as the cattle is an important source of the family's livelihood.

After receiving the emergency call, the local fire and rescue department in Qianxinan prefecture dispatched a rescue team with one fire truck and seven firefighters to the scene. Upon arrival, firefighters found the cattle trapped in a septic tank about 2.5 meters wide and 1.6 meters deep, with everything submerged in wastewater except its head. 

Having been trapped for an extended period, the exhausted animal was at risk of suffocation and collapse, according to the official WeChat account of the Qianxinan Fire and Rescue Department.

Firefighters initially tried lifting the animal out by its horns, but the attempt failed because of its size and weight. They then adjusted the rescue plan, secured the cattle with lifting straps, and carefully hoisted it to safety. After more than 50 minutes of rescue efforts, the animal was successfully lifted out of the septic tank unharmed, the fire department said.

After the rescue, the grateful villager repeatedly invited the firefighters home for a meal to express appreciation, but they politely declined.

As the fire truck drove away, the villager wiped away tears while running after it, repeatedly shouting "thank you" and waving goodbye in a heartfelt farewell to the firefighters who had saved the family's most valuable livestock.

Global Times