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In pictures: horses rescued in Swiss river emergencies

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In pictures: horses rescued in Swiss river emergencies
One of the horses is plucked to safety. Photo: Lucerne police

Two horses had to be rescued from tricky situations in separate incidents in Switzerland on Wednesday.

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A horse and rider were plucked from the fast-flowing river Rhine near the city of Chur in the canton of Graubünden on Wednesday afternoon after becoming stranded on an island in the river.

According to Chur authorities, the rider took her horse to the river to drink, whereupon the animal decided to walk into the water, with the rider still on its back.

The woman was unable to get the horse to turn back and both became stranded on an island 20 metres from the shore.


Photo: Chur police

The current of the river – swollen due to recent heavy rainfall in Switzerland – was too strong for them to get back across to the shore.

Animal rescue services, police and the fire service attended the scene and, using a series of cables and pulleys, were able to bring the pair safely back to the riverbank.

Also on Wednesday another horse was rescued after it fell through a bridge over the Rotbach river in the canton of Lucerne.


Photo: Lucerne police

The rider was leading her horse across the small wooden bridge when it broke and the horse fell through the floor, becoming wedged in the structure, police said in a statement.

A vet attended the scene and sedated the animal while members of the local fire service used pulleys to free it from the bridge.

Only slightly injured, the horse was flown by helicopter back to the farm where it lived.


Photo: Lucerne police

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