Firefighters rescue trapped stork from 30-metre chimney in Vacha
Lucky Escape: Stork Survives 30-Meter Plunge and Walks Away Unscathed
Firefighters in Vacha came to the rescue after a stork took a dramatic tumble—only to emerge remarkably unharmed.
On Monday afternoon, a female stork fell into a disused industrial chimney roughly 30 meters high on Bahnhofstraße. The Vacha fire brigade freed the bird from its precarious situation after witnesses reported a clash with rival storks just before the incident.
At the scene, the four firefighters discovered that the stork had slid all the way to the bottom of the old, partially bricked-up chimney. Cautiously, they pried open the partially sealed hatch—and found the bird surprisingly alert, standing steady on both legs.
"She never would have made it out on her own—her wingspan was just too wide for the shaft," the rescue team confirmed. One firefighter carefully wrapped the stork in a blanket and placed her in a transport crate.
The bird was then taken to a stork rehabilitation center for examination. According to Storchenfreunde Vacha (Friends of Storks Vacha), she is in good health and expected to be released back into the wild as soon as possible.
