6-year-old girl rescued from Mississippi well



(CNN) -- A 6-year-old girl was rescued from a narrow, abandoned well after becoming trapped during a field trip in Lucedale, Mississippi, authorities said Thursday.

Rescuing her from the 20-foot-deep hole took about three hours, said Greene County Emergency Management Director Trent Robertson.

She does not appear to be injured but was transported to the hospital for safe measure, Robertson said. Authorities are still trying to determine how she became trapped. The child was responsive and talking during the rescue, police said.

The hole is 14 to 16 inches in diameter, Sheriff's Deputy Chief Bryan Walley said.

The incident began shortly before noon at a farm address in this town of 3,000, about 60 miles southeast of Hattiesburg, near the Alabama state line, said sheriff's spokeswoman Pam Anderson.

CNN affiliate WLOX reported that the incident occurred at Eubanks Produce Farms, a family-owned, 1,600-acre handpicked produce operation that's been in business for almost two decades.

The farm's website says it opens a 100-acre swath of the farm to the public in June and July, allowing visitors to pick their own fruits and vegetables. WLOX reported the farm staff was expected to provide more details Thursday afternoon.

The child was with a group of children and is believed to be from out of state, said Walley. He said he wasn't sure where the group was from.

A task force from Forest, Mississippi, as well as fire, ambulance and emergency management officials from the surrounding area joined in the rescue effort, which required backhoes and ropes.




CNN's Marlena Baldacci, Joe Sutton and Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.