A terrified Alsatian is finally set free after being stuck in a sewer for four days. Rescuers helped the dog out after it had managed to survive with its head and paws sticking out by the road.

The rescue occurred in the city of Bahia Blanca, in the eastern Argentine province of Buenos Aires.

A short film shows a police officer crouching over a small drain hole trying to keep the dog calm. A worker widens the hole with a hammer before officers are able to push the mutt's head out from where it was wedged.

Finally they free the exhausted dog and pull it up onto the pavement. Local authorities were called out after residents spotted the pooch and raised the alarm. They had kept it in good health by providing it with food and water while it was trapped.

Officers of the Civil Defence Force carried out the rescue mission with the aid of construction workers, who had to dig up the pavement and concrete over the sewer.

Photographs show how badly the canine was stuck, with a construction worker forced to work in a deep hole that needed to be dug.

Authorities are now searching for a family to adopt the Alsatian.