The fire service on Wednesday rescued an 11-year-old girl who had fallen into a 40-metre deep borehole, spokesman Andreas Kettis said.

“Once again our predictions are verified,” Kettis said, kicking off a series of tweets where he described the incident. “Next time we may not be so lucky!”

“Days ago, and after repeated calls to retrieve several animals from open wells, also posing risks for our members, we appealed to both private individuals and all relevant state services to inspect and secure boreholes and open wells,” he said.

“Today, the fire service rescued an 11-year-old girl from a 40-metre deep hole, luckily without any apparent serious injury,” he added.

On Twitter he also shared a video from the rescue operation.

https://twitter.com/akettis/status/1608162673992282113?s=20

The girl and her nine-year-old sister were playing in the garden of a Lakatamia home when the rough covering of the borehole gave way, causing them both to fall in.

“They remained there for two and a half hours, calling for help with no response, until the younger girl took the plunge and climbed up the water pipe, a distance of 40 metres to the surface, and alerted their parents,” Kettis said.

“Well done to the girls for their boldness and courage!,” he said finally, “Well done to our members of the Nicosia fire stations for the perfect and successful rescue operation!”