AN INCREDIBLE video shows the moment a calf is rescued by a skilled digger driver who expertly plucked it out of a canal using his excavator after it drifted downstream for over 2 miles.
The calf had reportedly slipped into the enormous ditch alongside another cow while grazing near the irrigation canal in the village of Calpala in Igdir, Turkey.
Owner Idris Karabuga managed to rescue one of the animals with a rope but was too far from the other – forcing him to ask nearby construction workers for help.
Normally kitted out for shifting rubble and sand, an excavator was soon called into action, making an inch-perfect move to save the calf by using the machine’s claw to scoop it from the waters.
Dramatic footage filmed by bystanders shows the calf approaching down the canal, flailing helplessly as it picks up speed down the current.
Sitting on the banks of the canal though is the waiting Volvo excavator, whose bucket hangs over the rushing waters in anticipation.
Right as the calf is about to pass by, the driver springs into action, flexing the arm of the excavator and dipping into the powerful current.
Whilst the calf is briefly submerged in the water, the driver raises the arm again in one fell swoop revealing a full bucket – and the animal tucked safely inside.
He then spins the arm around, carefully lowering it onto dry land as the sodden calf tumbles out and back onto its feet while witnesses filming the incredible rescue excitedly welcome it.
The amazing clip was posted to social media on Sunday with the caption: “A crane operator saves a calf who fell in a water canal with incredible timing, in I?d?r, Turkey.”
The video has since received over 127,000 likes and more than 2,800 comments from users left applauding the driver’s heroic timing.
One user said: “Holy s**t that was awesome, what a perfect scoop.”
Another added: “F***ing epic timing on the operator’s part.”
A third replied: “Someone had better have bought that man a beer or whatever the hell he drinks.”
Another commented: “F**k yeah that was amazing.”
A fifth joked: “Ultimate claw game.”
Speaking later to local media, owner Karabuga said: “While grazing the animals, one fell into the water.
“The strong flowing water dragged the animal away. At that time, I called my friends working in the sand quarry ahead and asked for help.
“They waited for the animal to drift by with the construction machine.
“May Allah be pleased with all of them. The price of the animal today is approximately £1,500.
“If the construction equipment operator could not save it in one go, it could have died.”
