Rescuers lifted a pregnant heifer out of a mine shaft near Keyneton
About 15 volunteers and a local vet spent three hours getting the animal out of a three-metre hole on a Barossa farm. She walked off with scrapes and bruises.
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A heifer about three months pregnant walked across a cover of branches and fell three metres into a disused mine shaft on a farm near Keyneton. ABC News reported the rescue on November 11, 2026. The exploratory hole sits on a hill at an old quarry site in the Barossa. Kapunda SES deputy unit manager Gunther Schulz said the shaft had been on the property for decades and had been covered. She went through it on Tuesday morning after trying, the vet thought, to climb out through the night.
Local vet Saul Morelli went down with her, lightly sedated her, and worked with about 15 SES and CFS volunteers. A purpose-built harness and a spreader bar carried her weight. A crane could not get up the hill, so a neighbor's loader did the lift. The work took about three hours. She had scrapes and bruises and no serious injuries. Morelli said that as soon as her feet hit the ground she took off, and the crew had to loosen the straps in a hurry. The news is this one animal back on the grass. It does not say the shaft has been sealed again.
For the classroom
ABC News reported on November 11, 2026, that a pregnant cow fell into an old mine shaft on a farm near Keyneton, in South Australia's Barossa region. The hole was about three metres deep. A cover of branches had been over it for decades, and she walked across it on Tuesday morning. Vet Saul Morelli and about 15 SES and CFS volunteers spent about three hours getting her out. They used a special harness and a neighbor's loader, because a crane could not reach the hilltop. She had scrapes and bruises and was otherwise all right. As soon as her feet touched the grass, she walked away.
- Why would a tired animal still need a calm person nearby before anyone lifts it?
- What is one reason an old hole on a farm should be covered again?
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