It could have easily been a tragedy, but thanks to the hard work of several rescuers a 4-year-old boy was reunited with his family three hours after falling into a well Monday evening.

The boy and his dog were trapped about 23 feet down a hole that had an 18-inch opening, according to Lincoln County Civil Defense Director Clifford Galey. He fell into the hole at 2116 Gene Road at about 5 p.m.

Rescuers were able to talk to the child, who was unharmed, during the incident but had trouble getting a rope around him. They were finally able to pull him up about at about 8:05 p.m. His dog, which had been missing for a week, was pulled out minutes later.

It was a successful rescue and cheers went up as soon as the boy was pulled out.

Emergency personnel from McComb, Jackson and Hattiesburg helped out. There were also dozens of volunteer firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and others on the scene helping. We can’t thank them enough for their work in this effort.

Galey said rescue personnel had trained for these types of situations and that training paid off.

“I just can’t say enough about what everybody did to get this little boy out of that well safe,” Galey said.

Galey said emergency personnel from across the state had worked to put together rescue teams to help out when something like this happens. He said there have been two incidents in the state this year, and both resulted in a successful rescue because of the teams.

When the boy was pulled out, Galey said he was cold, dirty and hungry. He was promised pizza and a ride on a fire truck. That’s about as happy an ending as anyone could have hoped and prayed for.