Adrift inflatable unicorns and stranded parrots: how US officials dealt with unusual rescue operations

Two bizarre rescue operations - separated by hundreds of miles – took place this weekend in the United States.

The first in Minnesota involved a giant, inflatable unicorn carrying five women.

Stuck in a murky lake, they quickly escaped thanks to the help of a rope and two police officers.

The second in Illinois, the Belleville Fire Department rescued a man who went into a mud pit to rescue his parrot – only to get stuck himself.

Both were rescued from the “unusual and dangerous” situation with the mud acting like quicksand.