TURKEY – A lost cat was spotted as it was swimming a mile off shore by rubbish collectors scooping waste out at sea.
The environmental workers were shocked to see the cat paddling away from them.
The cat looked exhausted after its long swim and the workers could see seagulls trying to attack it.
And so, they launched a daring rescue bid with one of them hanging overboard with a large net to try and scoop up the wet cat but the scared animal kept evading capture.
Eventually, they decided to change their tactics and instead started up a conveyor belt which they use for removing solid waste from the surface of the water.
They then directed their boat at the swimming cat and the cat suddenly leaped up and into the boat.
They later dropped the cat off at a port in the Ayvansaray district of Istanbul, Turkey, where it was declared to be in remarkably good health following its ordeal.
The crew of the boat explained that they had no idea how the cat came to be so far out to sea and said that they had never seen anything like it before.
The boat is owned by the Istanbul Environmental Management Industry and Trade Inc which is contracted by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to help keep the sea clean in the Golden Horn.
