Horses Rescued From Drowning!
Stranded for Three Days...
UPDATE: Dutch Rescue Succeeds in Saving Horsesphoto: horses as they are being rescued.
By PETER DEJONG
MARRUM, Netherlands (AP) - A herd of horses marooned on a lowland knoll for three days by rising floodwaters waded to safety on Friday, led by wranglers following an underwater path marked out by half-submerged stakes.
The horses were neck deep at times and had to swim at some spots, especially the foals. But they began to canter as they neared the edge of the brackish water, and burst into a gallop once they reached solid land, apparently relieved at being able to stretch their legs.
The plight of the herd of about 100 horses has gripped the Netherlands since a storm surge Tuesday night pushed sea water into the wilderness area outside the dikes of Marrum, a town 90 miles northeast of Amsterdam. Before they could be saved, 19 of the horses drowned or died of exposure. Several rescued by boat earlier in the week have contracted lung infections.
For rest of story---
click hereOriginal Story --November 2, 2006
MARRUM, Netherlands -- Firefighters waded through knee-deep floodwaters Friday, staking out a safe escape route for a herd of about 100 horses huddled together on a small knoll where the animals have been stranded for three days.
Water that turned the earthen mound into an island had receded enough for horses and rescuers, including veterinarians, firefighters and animal welfare officers, to wade out to them, Mayor Wil van den Berg said.
The plight of the stranded horses has riveted the country, which has followed the rescue attempts on television and in newspapers since a storm surge Tuesday pushed seawater into the wilderness area outside the dikes of Marrum, a town 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Amsterdam.
One horse died Thursday night, a veterinarian said, bringing the death toll from drowning or exposure to 19. Rescuers planned to use other horses to lead the panicky animals, including several foals, back to dry land.
"We plan to mark out a safe track through the water," which was less than 1 meter deep in most places, but up to 2 meters deep where the surrounding fields are crisscrossed with drainage channels, van den Berg said.
The channels, along with submerged barbed wire fences, are difficult to see in the brackish floodwaters, hampering rescue efforts.
Once the track -- about 650 meters long -- has been staked out, rescuers on horseback and firefighters in small boats will head out to the animals and lead them back to a dike, where they can rest before returning to a dry pasture, van den Berg said.
By early afternoon, six guide horses with riders had waded out to join the herd, preparing to get the operation under way.
Rescuers have been feeding the animals with hay and giving them fresh water to drink to keep up their strength.
On Wednesday, the fire department floated or ferried around 20 horses, including the smallest foals, to safety with the help of small boats. Since then, however, their rescue efforts have been stalled.
Dutch television and newspapers have shown dramatic images of the horses huddled together, their backs to the wind that was whipping up small waves in water surrounding the isolated island.
The Dutch army also tried to rescue the animals Wednesday, but called off the operation when water levels receded to less than 1 meter in some places, grounding pontoon boats.
Van der Berg said helicopters were ruled out for transporting the animals, because the noise and lights might have panicked the animals and caused more to drown.
The Netherlands' Party for the Animals said it filed a complaint against the horses' owner, and the operator of the wilderness area where they are stranded, since the national weather service had put the country on alert for rising floodwaters early Tuesday.
Netherlands' Party for the Animals
http://www.partijvoordedieren.nl/content/view/129The Agriculture Ministry ordered an investigation.
For full story-
click here