Three people died trying to rescue a pet dog which had fallen down a well in Cambodia's rural Kratie province, local media reported today.

After seeing his dog tumble into the well on Saturday, Say Phalla, the animal’s 25-year-old owner, used a rope to descend in after it, The Cambodia Daily reported.

“He hurried to go into the well by using the well-rope to rescue his beloved dog, but he disappeared into the water,” local police chief Pech Ngon Srin told The Daily .

His 64-year-old mother, who had been watching the rescue attempt, saw that her son did not re-emerge, went into the well after him and also drowned.

The family’s 38-year-old neighbour then climbed down into the 9-metre-deep well but slipped and fell, according to the report.

Several hours later authorities arrived to drain the well and found the bodies of the three Cambodians and the dog.

- dpa