Donkey rescued from abandoned mine in Nevada

Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Emergency responders in Nevada came to the rescue of a wild donkey that wandered into an abandoned mine and became trapped in a 10-foot hole.

The Nye County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that deputies worked together with animal control and Beatty Fire personnel to conduct a rescue operation for the stranded burro, which fell into the mining hole outside of Rhyolite.

The sheriff's office said the donkey had been spotted by a hiker and the rescuers found they had to travel to the hole on foot due to its location.

The rescuers tied a rope around the donkey and hoisted it to safety in an hours-long operation, the sheriff's office said.

The donkey was released back into the wild. The sheriff's office said the mine will be blocked to prevent other animals from becoming trapped.