TUARAN: Just in the nick of time, Sabah Civil Defence Force personnel has rescued three buffaloes that had fallen and gotten trapped inside a three-metre deep mud hole in Kampung Rombituon, Topokon.
The animals were believed to have wandered into the area following a mudslide incident and became stuck after falling into the hole.
A witness, who wanted to be known as Jack, said he was riding his motorcycle, heading to town around 9.30am, when he heard noises coming from the bushes by the roadside.
"I was surprised to see not one but three buffaloes trying to climb up the mud hole.
"One of them appeared tired, probably from numerous attempts to escape."
Worried that the buffaloes might cause the wall of the mudhole to collapse, Jack said he immediately contacted the Civil Defence Force for help.
Its Tuaran officer Paulina Francis said a team was rushed to the area to assess the situation.
"Due to the wet soil, the team had to tie up one buffalo at a time before pulling them out to safety."
"They took about 15 minutes to get the animals out and released them afterward." Paulina said.
Tuaran is one of the six districts along the west coast of Sabah hit by floods following continuous rainfall since two days ago.
Other affected districts were Penampang, Kota Kinabalu, Putatan, Papar and Kota Belud.