Drone Pilot Spots 13 Cows in Well, Fire Brigade Rescues All
A drone pilot’s quick thinking led to the dramatic rescue of 13 cows trapped inside a water well in Lo-Reninge, West Flanders, on Sunday evening. The animals were discovered after Sam Van den Abeele (35), a certified drone pilot who lives on the Hazewind in Lo-Reninge, heard the cows in the meadow behind his house mooing incessantly.
“It was clear something was going on, so I put my drone in the air to see better,” Van den Abeele told VRT NWS. “I am a certified drone pilot and I fly over the meadows here quite often. Quite quickly I saw that only 2 cows were still standing in the meadow. They were nervously circling around the water well. When I flew my drone over the water well, I saw all 13 missing cows gathered there. It was striking how surprised they looked straight into the drone’s lens.”
A Remarkable Rescue Operation
Van den Abeele immediately sent the drone footage to the owner of the meadow, who then alerted the fire brigade. Fire brigade post Lo-Reninge arrived on the scene and called in the specialized Animal Rescue Team (DRT) of Brandweer Westhoek, the regional fire brigade zone covering the Westhoek area of West Flanders.
The farmer came with a telehandler, but the cows could not simply climb out of the well on their own. A ramp was dug for them, allowing the animals to walk out one by one with some assistance. The intervention was completed around 11 PM, and all 13 cows emerged safe and in good health.
The story quickly captured public attention, becoming the second most-read article on VRT NWS.
A Recurring Problem in the Westhoek
This incident is part of a notable pattern of cows getting stuck in water bodies and wells across the Westhoek region. Just five days earlier, on August 12, a 650 kg Belgian Blue cow fell through a 60x60 cm manhole into a 15,000-liter rain well in Eernegem. The DRT team had to descend into the well and hoist the cow out with a crane. “We have never seen this before,” said Filip Vandenberghe of the DRT team, as reported by VRT NWS.
About a month earlier, on July 13, four cows were rescued from a muddy stream in Reninge, part of Lo-Reninge. The cows had escaped through a broken fence and got stuck in deep mud. Fire captain Guido Snick of post Lo-Reninge led that operation using straps and a municipal telehandler, according to VRT NWS.
The trend extends further back. In August 2025, Brandweer Westhoek had to rescue five cows from water in a single week, including a cow in the Ieper-IJzer canal in Merkem, cows in ponds in Pollinkhove and Lo-Reninge, a cow in Mesen, and a cow that swam 2 km in the Handzamevaart in Diksmuide, as documented by VRT NWS.
That same month, a cow of over 800 kg was rescued from a stream in Lo-Reninge, with the DRT team attaching straps under the cow’s belly and using a telehandler to bring it to dry land, according to Het Nieuws van West-Vlaanderen. Days later, 15 cows were rescued from a stream in Oostvleteren, where the DRT team used a crane to create a slope for the animals to walk out, as reported by Het Nieuws van West-Vlaanderen.
In August 2024, 18 cows were rescued from a deep stream in Pollinkhove, Lo-Reninge, with divers called in and the DRT team bringing all cows safely back to dry land, as documented by Het Nieuws van West-Vlaanderen. The same night, another cow fell into a manure pit at a farm in Lo-Reninge.
Why Cows End Up in Water
According to reporting from Het Nieuws van West-Vlaanderen, the cows are not necessarily looking for cooling but for food. Due to limited rainfall, the grass in their meadows becomes dry and brown. Fresh, tender grass is mainly found along the banks of streams or ponds. The slopes and unstable ground increase the chance of cows falling into the water.
A Growing Challenge for Emergency Services
Brandweer Westhoek is one of 34 Belgian fire brigade zones and one of four West Flanders emergency zones. The zone provides fire brigade care and most ambulance assistance from 22 posts in the Westhoek area of West Flanders. The specialized DRT (Animal Rescue Team) handles animal-related emergencies, and their workload has grown significantly as these incidents become more frequent.
The successful rescue in Lo-Reninge highlights both the value of modern technology in emergency situations and the dedication of the fire brigade teams who respond to these unusual calls. For Sam Van den Abeele, the drone pilot who spotted the trapped cows, it was a moment where his hobby proved invaluable.
All 13 cows are reported to be doing well following their ordeal, thanks to the coordinated effort of the drone pilot, the farmer, and the fire brigade teams.