Firefighters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, extricates a weasel from a washing machine. Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by The Paper on Weibo

Firefighters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, encountered a unique challenge when trying to extricate a weasel from a washing machine, being foiled in their rescue attempts when the animal farted in a bid to resist capture, Pear Video reported on Monday. 

The palm-sized animal crawled into a public washing machine on the 20th floor of a community on August 12 and had been jumping up and down in the machine to avoid being caught.

Firefighters later arrived after residents called for emergency help. After several failed attempts, they decided to use the washing machine's "spin" function to make the animal dizzy and easier to catch. 

The approach seemed to work, as the weasel finally stopped moving around. However, it still appeared to be resisting capture, releasing a smelly fart that kept its rescuers temporarily at bay. 

"I have never smelled anything as smelly as this," one of the firefighters said in the video.

The animal was eventually taken out and released into the wild. The washing machine has also been thoroughly disinfected.