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Ducklings rescued from Fla. storm drain

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CARROLLWOOD, Fla., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said it took a sheriff's deputy, five firefighters and a public works employee to rescue eight ducklings from a storm drain.

Neighbors at Pine Lake Garden Villas in Carrollwood saw eight of 11 ducklings, swimming with their mother Sunday morning, fall through slats in a grate on the drain, the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times reported Monday.

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Authorities were called after witness Belen Artidello was unable to lift the grate on her own.

The deputy, firefighters and works employee Donoban Brown went to the scene. Brown used a big mechanical arm to pull out the grate and its surrounding concrete but the rescuers suffered a setback when the ducklings retreated into a small drain pipe.

The rescuers lured the little ducks out with bread but they soon fled back into the pipe.

The ducklings were eventually coaxed out of the pipe and a firefighter blocked its opening by dropping his jacket into the drain.

Capt. Sean Duncan was then lowered into the drain and collected the ducklings in a cat carrier. The babies were reunited with their mother.

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