Dutch Workers Chart Horses' Flood Escape
Nov 03 9:19 AM US/Eastern
By PETER DEJONG
Associated Press Writer
MARRUM, Netherlands
Firefighters waded through knee-deep floodwaters Friday, staking out a safe escape route for a herd of about 100 horses huddled together on a small knoll where the animals have been stranded for three days.
Water that turned the earthen mound into an island had receded enough for horses and rescuers, including veterinarians, firefighters and animal welfare officers, to wade out to them, Mayor Wil van den Berg said.
The plight of the stranded horses has riveted the country, which has followed the rescue attempts on television and in newspapers since a storm surge Tuesday pushed seawater into the wilderness area outside the dikes of Marrum, a town 90 miles northeast of Amsterdam.
One horse died Thursday night, a veterinarian said, bringing the death toll from drowning or exposure to 19. Rescuers planned to use other horses to lead the panicky animals, including several foals, back to dry land.
"We plan to mark out a safe track through the water," which was less than 3 feet deep in most places, but up to 6 feet deep where the surrounding fields are crisscrossed with drainage channels, van den Berg said.
The channels, along with submerged barbed wire fences, are difficult to see in the brackish floodwaters, hampering rescue efforts.
Once the track _ about 650 yards long _ has been staked out, rescuers on horseback and firefighters in small boats will head out to the animals and lead them back to a dike, where they can rest before returning to a dry pasture, van den Berg said.
By early afternoon, six guide horses with riders had waded out to join the herd, preparing to get the operation under way.
Rescuers have been feeding the animals with hay and giving them fresh water to drink to keep up their strength.
On Wednesday, the fire department floated or ferried around 20 horses, including the smallest foals, to safety with the help of small boats. Since then, however, their rescue efforts have been stalled.
Dutch television and newspapers have shown dramatic images of the horses huddled together, their backs to the wind that was whipping up small waves in water surrounding the isolated island.
The Dutch army also tried to rescue the animals Wednesday, but called off the operation when water levels receded to less than 3 feet in some places, grounding pontoon boats.
Van der Berg said helicopters were ruled out for transporting the animals, because the noise and lights might have panicked the animals and caused more to drown.
The Netherlands' Party for the Animals said it filed a complaint against the horses' owner, and the operator of the wilderness area where they are stranded, since the national weather service had put the country on alert for rising floodwaters early Tuesday.
The Agriculture Ministry ordered an investigation.
"We're going to work together with prosecutors to see whether there was any criminal act committed," spokeswoman Anita Douven said. "That could be negligence, or possibly mishandling of the animals."
