Veterinarians and park staff have pulled off a dramatic rescue of a pair of elephants in Thailand that involved the use of a boom lift, a digger and the resuscitation of an unconscious mother by three people.

The rescue took place in the pouring rain in central Nakhon Nayok province on Wednesday when a one-year-old elephant fell into a roadside drainage hole. The distressed mother stood guard over her calf, according to national park staff, but also fell in shortly after she was sedated.

Rescuers used a truck-mounted boom lift to pull the mother out before climbing on top of her to perform simultaneous cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as a digger cleared away earth so the anxious calf could climb out from the slippery mud.

The calf began suckling its mother, who soon regained consciousness, and both returned immediately to the wild.

It took the team more than three hours to finish the operation.

Sky News reported that Dr Chananya Kanchanasarak, Khao Yai national park Department vet, said: “It was impossible to get near the baby while the mother was nearby so we gave her three doses of tranquillisers but she moved towards her baby before passing out and hit her head.”

Chananya said it was “one of the most memorable rescues we’ve done”.