Thiruvananthapuram, April 20: In a tragic turn of events, a giant bear which fell into a well in a residential area here on Thursday died as it was under the water for over an hour subsequent to being tranquilised.

The rescue attempts took an unexpected and tragic turn when the animal went under the water after being tranquilised and could not be reached by the Forest officials and locals -- who immediately entered the well -- due to the depth of the water in it, according to visuals on TV channels. Germany: Bear on the Loose in Bavaria Kills Two Sheep.

A Forest official told PTI that a net was placed under the bear prior to tranquilising it, but it could not contain the animal which slipped into the water and then went under the water after becoming unconscious. The calculations of the rescue personnel about the depth of water in the well went wrong as they could not reach the animal after it went under water.

Subsequently, a large amount of water from the well was pumped out using two motors and thereafter, fire force personnel entered the well and brought out the unconscious bear -- which had been trapped inside the well for over 10 hours -- in a net.

Dead Bear Pulled Out of Well

The bear was unconscious and appeared lifeless while it was loaded onto a Forest department vehicle and taken for medical examination. According to officials, the bear was trapped inside the well since around 12.30 AM. The animal reportedly fell inside it while trying to catch a chicken.

The visuals of the rescue attempts showed the first tranquiliser dart missing the bear and it was successful only on the second try. The veterinarian who darted the bear told reporters here the animal was physically healthy, but it would be mentally disturbed as it was trapped inside the well for several hours and also because of the huge crowd that had gathered to see the rescue attempt. Bear Runs Past People in Alaska, Group's Unfazed Reactions Leave Netizens Stunned (Watch Video).

However, after being darted, the bear went under the water and did not come up. The net placed under it by the forest officials could not hold onto the animal after it was tranquilised.