Five camels plunge 100 metres into Saudi abyss

Five camels, including two well-known racers, plunged nearly 100 metres into a rocky abyss in Saudi Arabia and are still stranded among the massive cliffs after suffering from serious fractures, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Civil defence men called into the scene quickly gave up attempts to rescue the animals as they feared for their lives and found it almost impossible to reach the crippled camels, Sabq Arabic language daily said.

The camels lost their balance and plunged into the valley south of the Western town of Taif as they were being herded with 20 other camels by shepherds taking them back to the farm, which belongs to well-known camel owner Sheikh Mohammed Al Sawat.

“The camels suffered serious fractures and have been lying down in the abyss for four days after civil defence men could not reach them,” the paper said.

“The civil defence said later they were considering deploying helicopters to try and pluck out the camels but they believe it is too risky as the camels are caught in a dangerous rugged area overlooking even a deeper valley.”