A team of 40 rescue workers labored for eight hours overnight Monday to free 19 manatees trapped in a Florida city storm drain after they sought warmer water there.

City workers in Satellite Beach re-installed a grate Tuesday to keep more manatees from seeking the warmth. The grate had been clogged and removed, which allowed the sea cows to swim into the opening one by one.

A hole was cut into the drainage pipe so rescuers from SeaWorld, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and police and firefighters could lift them out with slings, earth-movers and a fire department ladder truck.dachsund-in-mudslide-Bill_Pyles

WATCH: Tinkerbell The Dachshund Rescued Days After Mudslide Engulfs Home

 

All 19 animals were safely released back into the Indian River Lagoon.

(WATCH the WRBL video above and READ the update from Florida Today)

 

Leave a Reply