A robot designed to disarm bombs was sent on Friday to rescue a pet bird from a Sydney apartment building crumbling because of a tunnel collapse.
The cockatiel, Tweety, was stranded in an apartment directly above a section of the building that partially collapsed when a giant hole opened up near the site of a new tunnel earlier this week.
Tweety’s owner, Karen Bruce, was barred from entering the building to get her pet after she and about 60 other residents were awoken early on Wednesday and ordered to flee.
When the robot emerged from the building with Tweety on Friday, Bruce held the bird up triumphantly.
”Tweety is a hand-reared cockatiel who likes daily contact,” she explained.
Asked about her feathered friend’s condition, she said: ”I don’t know. I’m not a vet, but she’s had a bit of [water and] seed and stuff, so she is quite content.”
But, she added: ”It might be a quick rush to the vet.” — Sapa-AP