Sparky the dog saved the woman after she fell down the sewer
A hero dog has rescued a woman who was trapped for three days after falling down an uncovered manhole into a Ukrainian sewer.
Lenura Levanova, 67, tumbled 13 feet into the sewer on her way to work in Dnipro, Ukraine, breaking her ribs in the process.
Despite her cries for help, Ms Levanova remained missing for days and only managed to survive by drinking juice and munching on chips she had with her.
Sparky, a specially trained rescue dog of Malinois breed, located Mrs Levanova after hearing her breathing.
A missing woman has been rescued from old sewer after being found by a specially trained rescue dog with super sharp ears who heard her breathing underground.
Lenura Levanova, 67, fell 13 feet into a manhole on her way to work in the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Oblast region.
Her relatives almost lost their hope after a three-day search that gave no result.
Lenura Levanova, 67, fell 13 feet into a manhole on her way to work in the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine
But it took the super rescue dog Sparky only 30 minutes to locate and save the missing woman.
Local media report Mrs Levanova had taken a shortcut down a path in a deserted area to get to her work faster.
Mrs Levanova said she survived on snacks she had packed in a bag
But she found herself lying on the bottom of a deep cement manhole suffering from unbearable pain in her chest and left thigh.
She did not have her mobile phone with her and tried to call for help but nobody heard her in the deserted place.
After Mrs Levanova did not appear at work, her anxious colleagues called her relatives who alerted the police.
Over the next two days her relatives, their friends, some volunteers and the police combed the area between Mrs Levanova’s home and work but could not find her.
On the third day, her desperate relatives came up with the idea of using a specially trained dog.
Mrs Levanova’s son-in-law Evgen Chaus said to local media: ‘We were in a panic after she went missing and only on the third day did we think about a dog.
‘We went on the Internet and found a dog handler who arrived a few hours later.’
The dog handler Larisa Borysenko and her Malinois breed dog Sparky arrived from the town of Pavlohrad, 47 miles from the city.
Sparky reportedly located Mrs Levanova after smelling her down the well and leading rescuers to her
It took Sparky 30 minutes to find Mrs Levanova. The animal is reported to have located her by hearing her breathing.
Ms Borysenko said: ‘Sparky found a manhole covered with dry branches and started barking.
‘I lay down on the ground and put my head into space between branches. I saw a dark cement well.
‘I called, ”Is there anyone alive?”, and several seconds later I heard a weak voice that said, ”help me! I have been here for three days!”
Within the next hour, Mrs Levanova was rescued from the underground trap.
A video filmed by rescuers and posted on their official social media shows the woman climbing up a ladder while moaning from pain.
Mrs Levanova suffered several broken ribs after falling into an open manhole cover in a remote forest
After Mrs Levanova did not appear at work, her anxious colleagues called her relatives who alarmed the police
Rescue service spokeswoman Daria Grechyshcheva said: ‘It is just a miracle that the woman survived the fall and was found.
‘She had some juice and chips with her and it helped her to hold out in difficult circumstances.’
After being rescued, Mrs Levanova was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with broken ribs and severe thigh bruise.
Doctors say the woman’s life is not in danger and she is recovering quickly.
Mr Chaus said: ‘On the first day of search I passed 10 metres [32 ft] from this manhole but heard nothing.’
Ms Borysenko, who helps to search for missing people on a voluntary basis, said: ‘Sparky was trained to search for alive people by their breath. She does not need to sniff a missing person’s things and track the scent.
‘She works in a particular territory and hears the breath of any living person who is in the territory.
‘When Mrs Levanova was lying on the ground while paramedics were preparing her for transportation, she said softly,”Could I stroke the dog, please?”
‘Now that is gratitude!’
Doctors say the woman’s life is not in danger and she is going to make a full recovery over the coming weeks